


The Derelicts

by Kuromori (Charred_Ground), sumire (sometimesafangirl)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: American Gods Inspired, Ancient China, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Celestial Beasts, Explicit Language, Heaven, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Magic, Modern Era, Mpreg, Top Lance (Voltron), Two Fathers, implied gender switching, klance, klangst, two authors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-01-04 22:20:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 190,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12177645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charred_Ground/pseuds/Kuromori, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sometimesafangirl/pseuds/sumire
Summary: Inspired by the book American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This is an AU story about a world where every god imagined or conceived becomes or has been real (No need to read the book to understand, and no spoilers for the book/show)Condemned for consummating their love, Seiryuu and Suzaku are expelled to Earth, stripped of their abilities, and forced to live an immortal life of uncertainty in themselves and in each other. Cursed to be in pain when separated but to always drift apart, the two find themselves at an ultimatum, after a millennium of insufferable pain and delirious joy. Their heaven, and the courts that banished them, are all but dead and forgotten. If heaven is as weak as the rumors suggest, can they reclaim their powers and take on what is left of their tormentors? Or do they continue this life not knowing when their next separation and punishment will happen?





	1. How do we Begin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
>  
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
>  [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
>  
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

His shoulder slumped hard against the brick wall. Keith had no idea what dragged his sorry ass out here in a middle of a snow storm; his head was fevered and his eyes stung. His body was trying to cook him from the inside out. He slid down the wall. The dirty snow pile of salt, sand, and whatever else winter streets provided, melted away around him. He raised his hand above is head and arched his neck back to see the lines of heat moving off his skin, snow turning to rain as it passed by, and evaporating before it could pool on his skin. 

Keith lulled his head back against the alley wall. His arm dropping with a splash into the luke-warm puddle of dirty water he now sat in. His dark eyes narrowed in annoyance as they drifted up to see Christmas lights jump and sway in the wind. Keith heard people from the street as they laughed and screamed gleefully turning up the collars on their designer jackets in a fruitless attempt to stave off winter’s kiss. Lucky bastards. With a windchill of -18 Keith would give anything to feel the kiss right now. He would strip down to nothing and gladly let Jack Frost, Skaoi, General Ba Jia Jiang, and the damn Sugar Plum Fairy (for good measure) have their way with him if he thought for one second it would ease the heat in his body. 

He closed his eyes to ease the burn, his black hair falling part way damp around his face while he curled up to the flat stucco wall of the restaurant, café, apartment complex super structure. It provided about as much comfort as asphalt under his ass. It all seemed a perfect cosmic joke to show him, blatantly, how far he’d fallen. Keith could have done without the smell of yesterday’s special’s oppressive scent surrounding him, but what’s another kick or two when you were already down? 

Keith did not have the right to feel sorry for himself. He’d pushed his limits. He ignored every sign, every flush of his body, and every wave of heated misery. He hated his cursed body more and more with each second. The worst part, was knowing that there was something he could do to fix all of this. The cure for his suffering was on the tip of his memory, a wafting fog on the edge of the light. It was bringing him to the brink of madness. 

“Fuck!” Keith snarled and sprawled his body out. He pulled at the collar of his catering uniform, sending buttons flying every direction until his pale flesh was exposed to the elements. His hurried arms untucking the thin shirt from his pants leaving him panting and overheated. Not that it mattered.

Keith been gone for so long, he’d forgotten most things about himself. Hell, a long ago name was all that was left him, and a memory of cold fingers and chilled breath. He moaned in agony as if he could almost feel it. The touch of soft skin caramelized by the sun sweet kisses living trails of ice down his back. He reached out for it in his mind. He longed for it, but could not understand what ‘it’ was. He’d done something similar several times in recent weeks, each time he thought something was reaching back, getting closer. Wouldn’t that be a trick? But in truth, there were no heroes. No one was going to show up in No Man’s Land Minnesota in the dead of January during a cold snap to save one dying god. Though, that would be a story to tell. 

He fucking hated snow. No amount of blankets tucked around him or heat blasting directly on his face in his dumpy little Honda could keep the crystalline flakes from forming every time he exhaled. And sure, they melted due to that blasting heat, but then the drops would land on the outermost blanket, and after a while they would start to soak through, so Lance had to toss that blanket into the back to dry as he wrapped another one around him. Luckily he brought as many blankets as he could fit in this tiny little hatchback. Blankets, hats, scarves, socks. Lots of socks. Lance was probably wearing six or seven pairs right now. 

But he was still cold. He had been cold for a very long time. And he knew he was an idiot for driving into what could have been the start of a blizzard instead of staying down in the Arizona heat, where he could lay in the sun all day and pretend he wasn't so cold. Freezing. His blood was probably icy-slush at this point. If the sun hadn't darkened his skin all those years ago, he was sure he would be blue. 

And yet here he was, teeth grinding a bit as he navigated the streets of Minneapolis, which he decided was the city he now hated the most, though the only other city he had been to was Phoenix. He hated the idea of cities. He preferred lots of land, and sun. Lots of sun. He would launch himself into the sun if it meant it would warm him even just a few degrees.

Very few people were driving, but they were probably returning to the warmth of their homes and loved ones. Not Lance. Lance was doing the stupidest thing he had done in a long time, and as the wipers struggled to push the snow across the windshield, he started to dread finding what he was looking for. 

He pulled to a stop in a parking space just beside an alley. He steeled himself for the blast of cold air that was about to hit him now that the engine was off and the car was quickly cooling down. He pulled another pair of gloves on and kept a blanket wrapped around his head and shoulders as he opened the door, hissing out a string of curses even though he had tried to prepare himself. But he had to do this. He at least had to know. Even if it didn’t work. Even if he was rejected. He had to do this. So he closed the door and took slow steps into that alley, his eyes narrowing when they saw who he was looking for. That heat radiated from the man sitting against the building. He needed to get closer. He needed to talk to him, yell at him, anything, but he said nothing. Right now he couldn't say anything. His mouth had frozen shut.

A shiver, cold and delicious, traveled down Keith’s spine. The sensation darted him up from the wall. It was a chill, an honest to god chill. He was sure hell was freezing over.

No, it was an event of greater rarity. Keith's eyes traveled over the bundled form in front of him his eyes getting wider as a sense of recognition filled him. The layers left the body shapeless, but Keith didn’t need to see him. Behind the walking pile of coats and scarfs was a swirling serpentine tail out lined in specks of blue light wavering in the air like the surface of a like. Keith knew him. Keith could see his tail sway as though it were a specter over the man’s shoulder, an appendage invisible to all but the five celestials. 

“You…”

Lance took slow, stiff steps towards that body, the warmth breaking through the perpetual chill enough to warm his lips, allowing him to pry them apart so he could speak once more. He could see the heat-lines coming off the body that had darted upright, and if he narrowed his eyes enough, he could see those fiery wings behind the man in front of him. It was his heat that kept the water in his eyes from freezing, so he was able to blink it away, but as some formed tears and hit his cheeks, they froze, icy trails over his chilled skin. 

"That's...all I am? You?" He practically hissed the words. It was about all he could manage with the stiffness of his skin. 

Keith reached out to him, his hand trembling. “Are you really here, or is Death being a dick?” Scraping over Lance’s pants, his fingers griped at a fold and brought him in closer, thrilling to another spine-chilling injection of ice. It traveled down the whole of his body as he pressed himself up against him, the length of his form wrapping covetously around one long slender leg. 

“Seiryuu.” Keith whispered the name in reverence as his hands moved to hooked into the waist of his pants, it was the only thing holding half naked man up. Keith pressed his chin into his hip, nuzzling him and kissing the area without much thought. “You came.”

"Fuck you, Suzaku." Lance hissed again, but he made no move to pull away as the other man crawled up his leg like that. The warmth was too good to push away right now. He could feel it through his pants and two layers of thermals. It was subtle, like the warmth of the sun through a window, but it was enough. It thawed his skin, and he could feel those delicious tingles traveling through his body. "I didn't come for you. I'm only here for me." He knew his words were harsh, but what did you say to the one who abandoned you over and over again. 

The words stung and if Keith could cry, tears might have form in his eyes. He had managed to survive 400 years without this blessed cold. Now, Seiryuu stood before him, memories washing over him with each upsurge of cold leaving Keith to wonder how he lasted a day. 

“Then take what you need. It can only help us both.” Keith forced himself to his feet, his hair damp with steam rising from it. Filthy, torn, and soaked clothing clung to his body as though Keith had forgotten the state he placed himself. “I couldn’t remember how to get home this time.” He was glad he couldn’t cry. A part of Keith understood he did not possess the right.

The damn bird had to know, right? He had to know the power he had over Lance. "That’s it? That's what you have to say?" He grumbled. What a convenient excuse. It's not like they were both in that place anymore. Lance didn't remember how to do it either, but here he was. He still found his stupid warmth. It was like a beacon that called out to him. How come Suzaku couldn’t see it? Did he forget more than just how to get home?

But he stood there. He made no move to let go of the blanket he held around his head and shoulders. He was still cold. He would be cold for a while. Centuries of losing your warmth day by day made It impossible to hold any heat he was given, but there was no way he was going to trust the man in front of him to stick around. He never did. He couldn’t ever keep himself from leaving. 

“What can I say?” Keith wrapped his arms around the taller man, groaning at the feel of his constant chill. Waves of it were coming and going and each one made the fire in him burn hotter and needier. “Everything I would say will just piss you off.” He touched Seiryuu’s jaw, the heat and desire tumbling inside the second he made that first flesh to flesh contact. Keith understood now, he remembered. Their curse and their need for each other. Lust. Sweet painful lust. It was mindless and self-indulgent.

Memories of tenderness laced into the mix and quelled the volatile emotions. Keith felt them there, under the surface even now, despite the way Seiryuu was glaring at him. Keith loved this creature. Completely. Their relationship was as healthy as it was unhealthy. Damaged, but whole. They needed each other. They adored each other. However, a part of their core, their natures rejected the other. Keith would wander away from time to time, blacking out and often finding himself in far more compromising locations than then one he just did. He always returned to Seiryuu. It had never been like this. His absence from the Eastern Lord never left him as desperate or pained, where he tasted ash in his mouth. 

"Anything you could say would be better than you acting like this is just some mild inconvenience." Lance snapped despite that gentle touch to his jaw that sent heat all through his body and seemed to be melting the ice in his veins. There was nothing he wanted more than to throw his arms around the man in front of him and bury his face into his hair, soaking up that warmth, but he refused to do that on principle. At least until he understood why he didn’t try to find him this time. 

“Still, it will just piss you off. All I can say is that I’m glad you found me. It hurt.” Keith pressed tighter. “It was really hurting this time. Still does even though I’m touching you. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”

Part of Lance was glad to hear that it hurt. Not because he wanted Suzaku to be hurt, but because it meant that he at least understood a little of what it felt like for Lance. There were a thousand biting comments he could have made in response to those words, but his jaw set and he swallowed them down. Being a dick wasn't going to get either of them anywhere, and they both clearly needed something more than closeness in an alleyway. "...Get in the car. Where do you live? I'll take you back there."

Keith adamantly shook his head, tossing that mix of red and gold highlights around his face. “I have a place, kinda. The Loews. It’s just down the block. Just act like you belong there, and I’ll take care of the rest. They might give us a little grief, but it should be fine.”

"So you want me to leave my car here?" Lance frowned a bit, not really understanding what the other man was talking about, and he was sure it showed on his expression. "Well if you fix your clothes you wouldn't look as unpresentable..."

Keith looked down at himself, at some point he’d partly undressed himself, his chest and stomach were exposed and his shirt was a rumpled mess. Luckily his current condition dried the clothing almost as quickly as it took him to stand up. “Valid.” He dressed and pushed his hair back behind his ears, hiding the feather soft colored locks behind the dark black ink like tresses. 

“We can park in the employee lot of the parking garage. Come on.” He tugged at Seiryuu’s sleeve. “We’re wasting time.”

Lance responded with an exasperated sigh. Suzaku was the one who wouldn't just go to the car in the first place. He let the other man tug him along, though he was able to walk a little better than he had when he first got out of the car, now that his skin didn’t feel like it was slowly turning to ice. He opened the passenger side door and pushed the blanket pile to the back so he would have a place to sit before he looped around to the driver's side and got in, starting the car, blanket still on his head and shoulders. "How do I get there?"

“Take South 5th street.” Keith settled himself in, his head turning about the small five door. “You got your divers license? “That’s good. In the US it’s impossible to get around if you don’t have one.” As he spoke, Keith reached out to touch a bare part of Seiryuu’s skin, the tease of flesh just after his glove and before his coat. 

"You say that like I know where that is." Lance muttered, though he relaxed marginally at the touch to his skin. "In Arizona you can't go anywhere without a car, so yeah. I had to." 

“Arizona.” Two of Keith’s fingers slipped inside the glove, his tongue wetting his lips. “Turn at the stop light, drive for about 5 minutes. If you crash into the Target Center, you’ve gone too far. But watch for the parking garage. It should be on your left.” 

He nodded as he drove, his hands gripping the wheel tightly to keep himself focused on the task at hand. He knew Suzaku would understand why he chose Arizona over other places, just as he understood why he ended up here. Their natures made it a necessity to be in their opposite climes if they weren't around each other, especially after so long. He said nothing during the drive, though ten minutes felt like ten hours with the silence. He pulled into the garage and found a parking spot, looking at him once he turned the car off.

Keith’s body had turned toward him, his eyes smoldering coals. Their endless deep reflective pools captured the sickly fluorescent lights of the parking ramp and transformed them into dancing blue flames of life and excited energy. He slipped his two fingers over the back of his hand, pulling the glove straight off. “You won’t need these.” His voice was low and sweet while he raised Seiryuu’s hand and touched it to his own cheek. 

Lance's fingers twitched when they touched that warm cheek. "I'm not thawed enough yet..." He whispered, unable to say much else with that contact. The other man seriously had to know how easy it would be to get him to do anything he wanted like this. 

“You will be.” Reluctant, Keith let the cold hand slip away. Getting out of the car, Keith stretched as though he’d been cooped up for the better part of the day. 

He sighed when he got out and took his glove with him, so Lance shoved that hand deep into his pocket as he climbed out, the blanket still draped over him. "So we just go in?"

“Yes, but after you.” Keith handed him a white and gold key card. “Courtesy of our little tiger friend. I didn’t recognize her then, but thanks to you that weird encounter makes sense. She really adapted well to this age. It was like Byakko was made for it.” Though she called herself Pidge now, didn’t she? 

There was stretched out moment of silence. “She found me. I should point out. She tracked me. I had records and she found me pretty easily when she actually tried.” He pointed up to the ceiling, but the implication was far greater than that.

Lance couldn't help the frown that came to his face. "I see." He took that card and looked at it, his eyes narrowing a moment before he sighed and pulled the blanket off his shoulders, gathering it up and draping it over his arm before he walked into the building and right into the elevator. He knew he couldn’t hide how bothered he was, but he wasn’t going to say anything either. He just didn’t have the energy.

The elevator was a simple service lift. Room for 3 people and a few push carts. This and one other were the only elevators that went up to the Penthouse suite. The hotel was old, formally run by the Grave’s family before becoming a franchise. It was as much a part of Minneapolis as the infamous 1st Avenue night club. Keith wasn’t the lap of luxury type, but Pidge showed off by guaranteeing him the best room available at any given time.

“This isn’t normally my style.” Keith spoke his thoughts aloud. “But she approached me when I couldn’t say no.” For now Keith would leave it there. Seiryuu didn’t care about any of that filler information, and as they opened the double doors at the end of the hall, Keith blushed at the round table view of the whole of the city. The bridge over the Mississippi glowed softly in purples and greens, the IDS tower blazed the sky with its step style orange lit roofing. Below he could see the perfect grid of the city streets, fogged over by the ongoing snow storm. “Wow.” 

Keith stepped in, his hand slipping over the back of the black leather crescent couch. He noted the large LED TV hung over a gas fireplace, which burned brightly . He walked over to the window and looked out at the snow coated city, a fog outlining his hand as he touched the glass. 

Lance remained in the doorway, not moving into the room, the frown frozen on his face. He watched Suzaku's movements, and he said nothing, though his still-gloved fist clenched into the blanket. 

Keith swallowed, something in the air shifted and he turned to look at Seiryuu. “I know it sounds bad.” He brought his hand to his elbow. “I…I owe her a lot.” He lowered his eyes and looked around the room a little more before he sighed. 

“This isn’t me. I know that. She knows that. She… just..” Keith did not know how to explain. Life in the US was not always easy, particularly for an immortal who had to keep reimagining themselves. The age of technology and all the modern conveniences it allowed was nothing but a bane for old gods. Trying to figure out backgrounds, bank accounts, rentals, and leasing?? Keith had become a mess in the 20th century while Pidge thrived and adapted. More than that, she owned this century. 

Lance still made no move from his spot in the doorway. His temperature dropped with every word Keith spoke. Any warmth his body had absorbed from the other man had vanished, and he was back to where he was before he stepped into the alley. No. He was worse. Moisture from the air started to gather against his skin, and some of it even started to freeze. 

Keith stopped talking, on edge now more than anything else. He turned his head down, but his eyes drifted back to the other man, unsure about what to do. He should have known to keep his mouth shut. Seiryuu did not care about any he had to say. He did not care about much else other than the service Keith could do for him. What was fair, was fair. Keith swallowed and stepped up to him, his hand touching his cheek then his lips. “I talk too much. Come on, let’s do what you came for.”

Those touches warmed him enough to keep the chill at bay. He sighed a bit and shook his head a little. "You're an idiot." He bowed his head. "Do you think now is the time to tell me all about how well supported you were after you abandoned me?" His voice got quieter with each word until it was barely a whisper. "You left me to die alone...and you still got support and everything."

Keith’s hand froze in mid-air, his fingers twitching before he coiled it back to himself. Definitely should have kept his mouth shut. “I understand.” Keith whispered stepping away from him, out of arms reach. “Here.” He pulled his shirt off over his head and let his slacks fall to the floor, leaving the slender toned body standing as a wraith in the middle of the darkened living room. Skin aglow in the firelight.

"You don't understand." Lance lifted his head to look at him, sighing a little at the state of his undress. "You really don't." He slowly walked up to him and took the blanket, wrapping it around those naked shoulders and shaking his head. "If you honestly think this is what I came here for, you definitely don't understand me at all." He bowed his head again. 

Keith let the blanket slip from his shoulders as he stared down at the ground. “I understand enough. I feel it too. I know what we have to do. I know what happens if we don’t. You didn’t come here for me. You came here for you.” Keith quoted. “I was careless. I know you don’t want to, or need to hear about any of that. It upset you. So, just get on with it so you can get back to your life.”

"See? You don't understand." Lance stared at the blanket as it crumpled to the floor. "What life could I possibly have without you? You are my life. You always have been my life. Of course I came for me. I would die if I didn't. And if you want me gone, then I will go, and you'll never see me again."

“You stand there and call me the idiot when you’re just as dumb! What do you think happens when you die? Hm? Everything is done? And I’m back to how I was before we ever fucked!?” Keith snapped. His outburst startled himself but he kept going, his temper flaring. He jabbed his finger into the center of Seiryuu’s forehead. “What do you suppose waits for me when you run off and die? Yeah, sure. I’ll never see you again. Because I’ll be a pile of fuckin’ ash. And I’m the idiot?” Keith shook his head. “I’m not in a hurry to die. I’m not a martyr. Leave that shit to Christ and his saints.” 

Keith stepped back from Seiryuu, his eyes burning with a barely concealed rage. “So shut up, and get in that bedroom before I drag your suicidal ass in there by your tail. You stupid lizard brained moron.”

Lance lifted his head at the jab to his forehead, tears freely flowing down his cheeks, but he frowned, and his eyes narrowed. "How the hell am I supposed to know what happens to you? You're the one who always leaves me! How many times was I supposed to let that happen before it messed me up? Did you expect me to just jump into bed with you just because I found you? That's all I am to you, isn't it? Just some fuck to cool you down so you can run off and do whatever the fuck you do?" He scowled at the shorter man. "Fine. Since that's all you want." He pushed past him and stormed into the bedroom.

His eyes blazed, a halo of fire burning around the retina as he watched Seiryuu walk past him. It was hot, it was painful. He felt like his skin could hurt even his own flesh if he dared to touch it. He followed a few paces behind the dragon, curtains and cloth rippling by the unseen pressure change just from the heat radiating off the young-looking man. Of course he knew he was wrong, he was the one who left. Whenever he left, he lost the memory of his lover and he’d move about aimlessly at first, but then he had a habit of following his devoted people. He could protect and help those that asked for it if he was closer to them. So, he moved as his worship moved. It was his nature. He’d move as one of them, fight for them, be with the people who loved him.

This time it was different. America didn’t allow room for Old Gods, and when his worshipers were used as laborers in the west, and on the railroads, then rounded up during the war, there was so little of ‘him’ left. No one cared about Suzaku anymore, and he had become too powerless to help. He barely remembered he was ever a god.

“I made it clear right away that I didn’t want that! You took me back here. You lead me up to this room without ever second guessing the intention.” Keith walked to the bed, glaring at it now as if it disgusted him. “Then you act like this is nothing. That I created this whole situation for my own purposes and accuse me of the very things you stated. Talking about death and dying like it wouldn’t affect me?” A gold and ruby dusted sheen came over that ivory body, his hair flittering up, and exposing a cuff clipped through his left ear. Sapphire gems crusted the outside of it as silver vines created a delicate interwoven base, and a small blue scale dangled down, shifting and catching the light. 

“What part of me laying in a gutter made it seem like I WANTED to be there?”

Lance's hands trembled as he worked on getting his many layers off, his back to Suzaku so he wouldn't see him wince with each of those scolding words. He could have defended himself. He could have said that Suzaku made nothing clear. That Suzaku had made the assumption that this was what he meant when he came here. That he was being a hypocrite for yelling at Lance for that. But he said nothing. He knew he would only make it worse if he retorted, so he just opted not to. He dropped his shirts to the floor and worked on his pants, the trembling no longer limited to his hands, but he did his best to curb it. 

Keith watched him and sighed, his fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Just-never mind. If we go into it like this, I’ll feel like a criminal. Just forget it.” Keith backed away, calling in his temper. “Neither of us are going to die tonight, so just rest up. I’ll be in the other room.” He looked over his shoulder when he made it to the door. “Thanks for coming for me. If that means anything anymore.” 

Keith walked back to the window, his forehead resting there, trying to absorb any of the chill leaching through as his shoulders shook with dry tears. “Damnit…”

"Don't leave me." Lance was sure his voice wasn't loud enough because Suzaku had already walked out of the room by the time he got the words out. He carefully stepped out of his pants and other layers and slowly took steps to follow Suzaku. He stood in the doorway for a moment before he walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around him, pressing his face into the back of his warm shoulder. "I don't want to die. I don't want you to die." He whispered, his tears smearing against Suzaku's hot flesh. "I didn't mean to make you angry with me. I'm just so broken. I don't know how to be a good person anymore..."

Just like that, as if dousing a flame, Keith’s anger quelled as his body shivered and arched back into the frigid embrace, his head lulling to the side as his body went pliant in Seiryuu’s hold. “I know I screwed up.” He whispered, careful of stepping on the shards of his own injured pride. “I followed that urge, I tried to fight it but the pull was stronger than I was. My memories were gone, and I screwed up, big time. I screwed up.” 

Keith hugged Seiryuu’s arms. “I hurt you badly this time, that’s never my intention. I don’t remember a lot of things right now. I know you and us. I have an idea about myself a couple random things, but everything else faded away.”

"I'm sorry. I was just so hurt and angry with you that I wasn't being good to you." Lance kept his face pressed against the back of Keith's shoulder. "And when you started talking about Byakko, I just felt so alone." He sighed a little. "I'm really scared, you know."

“It’s not supposed to always be about ‘being good to me’. I hurt you. I made you angry.” Keith shut his eyes. “My memories started to come back, and I was excited to see you again and spoke as if no time had passed and it was…it was insensitive of me. I was scared that it really was the only thing you wanted from me.” Keith smoothed his hands over Seiryuu’s arms, the fire dying out in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

"I thought that was all you wanted from me." Lance sighed and nuzzled into his shoulder a bit more, murmuring softly. "I like doing that with you, but that's not what I want from you..."

“I got ahead of myself because it felt too good to touch you. And I could see that you felt the same.”

"It feels amazing to touch you. It's one of the best feelings I've ever felt. And when you touched me, I was happy, even though I was angry with you..."

“I’ve never had good impulse control.” Keith pressed more of his weight against Seiryuu, a delighted shiver passing through him upon the touch is skin against his own. 

"That's true." Lance sighed a bit. "If we're not going to do it, will you at least come to bed with me?"

“I’d want to, still. If you’re okay.” Keith slid his arms back and up, until they wrapped around the other man’s head; “Unless you find it inappropriate. As long as you’re holding me, I can rest with that, for now.” 

Lance closed his eyes at the movement. "I don't find it inappropriate..." He whispered. "But I'm not sure if I'm okay."

“Well, no one is.” Keith pushed his hand up into Seiryuu’s hair, smirking as he found two small scaled horns hiding under the knit cap. “Are these still sensitive?”

Even if he wasn’t okay, Lance's eyes darkened at the touch to his horns and he cut his moan off. Those hadn’t been there for centuries, but he should have known that being around his love again would make them appear. "Nnn... Of course they are..."

Keith smiled to himself. Maybe it could still be like no time had passed. He turned in his arms and looked up at him. “I want to do it. Do you?” His hands moved back into Seiryuu’s hair and pushed up until he could find the dragon horns again, behind him small dust sized particles of light started to shimmer and move, giving the air behind Keith and shape of folded in wings.

"Nnn... You're doing this on purpose." Lance moaned and bowed his head a little to hide the slight flush that was coming to his cheeks. 

Keith watched him for a second, his brows furrowing up. “Is this not okay?” Had he read him wrong a few moments ago? He let his hands fall to rest on Seiryuu’s shoulders, stroking one cheek with his finger. “We can just rest, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

"It's okay. You just know what it does to me." Lance turned and kissed that finger. "I won't be able to help myself if you touch too much."

“Then tell me what I should do. I can lead you into that bedroom.” Keith got up on his tip toes and kissed his neck, his ear, then his jaw. “We can go slow, or we can just go ahead and fuck it out of our system and see where the rest of the night takes us.” Keith grinned, nipping at the dragon’s jaw. 

"I don't think I could go any faster than slow even if I wanted to." Lance whispered, his eyes closing. "My muscles were practically frozen up until I saw you, so I don't know how much they can take." 

“Let’s get you to the fire place then?” Keith smiled as he nodded toward the electric one. It’s not as good as me, but it would help you.”

Lance shook his head a little. "That doesn't help. Believe me. I've tried." He lifted his hands to touch Suzaku's cheeks. "Besides, I'd rather do it in a bed for the first time in centuries..."

“Nn,” Seiryuu had such cold, wonderful hands. “Anything you want.” Keith’s words were breathy and soft but not without an obvious pained ache.

Nodding, Lance took Suzaku's hand and slowly pulled him back to the bedroom. "But you have to want it too, or I won't want it..."

Keith followed him, as soon as he stopped moving he pressed his chest up against his back. “Don’t you remember? Or has it been that long? I’ve never turned you down.”

"I meant slow...not in general." Lance whispered. "But it's been so long, I've lost my confidence."

“Anything you need.” Keith kissed and nuzzled over his shoulder, shivering at the contact. “mmm…”

Lance groaned and turned around to look at him, his eyes dark, but the blush on his cheeks had darkened as well. He lifted his hand to cup Suzaku's cheeks, brushing his thumb over his lower lip as he looked down at him. "Do you mean that? Anything?"

Keith nodded his head. “I’ve a done lot of bad things, but I’ve never lied to you.” He said as he licked over the thumb. His mouth felt so hot, his eyes dark and wanting when they turned to Seiryuu.

"So you'll stay with me this time? If you'll do anything I want. I want you to stay and not leave." Lance leaned in and stopped just short if kissing him. "Can you do that?"

“What number is this?” Keith whispered, watching his lips.

"You've left me seven times, so this is the eighth time we’re together." Lance still didn't move in yet. "If you can't, please tell me now."

“Eight is a good number.” Keith smiled softly. “I’ll stay. Whenever I feel compelled to run off again, just put a collar around my neck.” He joked, but his tone belayed the humor. 

Lance's hands moved, so his fingers slid down that neck, and he shook his head. "I can't do that. You know that." He leaned in and kissed him. "If you're compelled to run, you need to be the one who decides to stay. Talk to me if you feel it happening. We can work on it together."

Keith let out a soft groan. Had they not tried something similar before? “That’s reasonable. We can make it work, we have to.” He kissed him, moaning now as he tilted his head in for another longer kiss. “I don’t want to leave you. I never do. But next time, I’ll bring you with me.”

"We'll just have to find a place that's good for both of us, so you never feel like you need to leave." Lance kissed him again and pulled him towards the bed. 

“Right now,” Keith turned and crawled on top of the bed, giving Seiryuu the perfect view of his back, and the two dark tan stripes on either side of his spine shimmered as more motes of red and gold framed an ever darker outline of translucent wings. “here seems like the best place in the whole world.”

"Does it?" Lance watched his movements and his eyes narrowed a little. He reached out to slide a hand up Suzaku’s spine, watching the way the other man's back arched a bit at his touch. He then slid that hand to slowly trail a finger along one of the tan stripes. "How does this feel?"

“AH!” Keith’s back bowed down as his head arched back. Wings unfurled and flared up like a stoked flame, sparks flying about the room harmlessly. The wings settle down to warm glowing embers as Keith’s shoulders fell forward, pressing into the bed. His arms lacked the strength to hold him, and the position forced the curved swell of bottom to perfect prominence. 

“You know,” The fire god panted. “damn well.” Long tail feathers slipped down from the small of Keith’s back, each one birthing a dim glimmering light of its own in red and yellow hues.

"Oh yes, I remember." Lance smirked and slid his finger up along the bone of one of Suzaku’s wings. His other hand rested on the curve of his bum, rubbing just slightly before he slid it along the tail feathers. "You really like this."

“Eeeng!” Keith gripped one of the pillows and pulled it under his head as he moaned, his hips already arching up to Seiryuu. “I… do. You jerk…” He panted, thighs quivering until he let his hips rest on the bed. 

“You played with them all the time and made me this way.” In Keith’s human body, every part of him endowed by his nature was sensitive to Seiryuu’s touch. His wings may as well have been the heat within his groin for how his body trembled at the smallest of the slip of the dragon’s skin against them.

"You started it by touching my horns." Lance smirked and leaned in to lick along Suzaku's wing bone, the hand at his tail moving to the back of his thigh and sliding up towards his backside. "But you're not really complaining, are you?" Of course Lance played with these feathers all the time. Suzaku's reaction was just as sexy whenever he did, and he enjoyed listening to him moan. 

“Nnng…” Keith’s perfect white teeth bit down on the edge of the pillow. Where Seiryuu’s mouth and tongue caressed him, liquid pleasure splashed over him, and rained down to pool between his legs. His eyes became black orbs and pent up desire as he pushed himself up to unsteady elbows. “No, I’m not complaining.”

"But you want more." Lance slid his hand down under him to touch his heat, cool fingers slowly sliding over the flesh as though such a simple thing would soothe him. He knew it would only stir Suzaku's desire more, though, and he wanted to give him as much pleasure as possible. "You want all of me, don't you?"

“Ah!” Keith arched his head back again his lip caught in his teeth and strangled his cry. He started to move his hips, pressing into Seiryuu’s hand and the bed as if that could provide some release. “I want more. I want all of you.” His tongue wetted his lips to heal the small imprint he teeth made on the supple flesh. “You’re so cold… it feels so good…” 

Lance curled his hand around Suzaku and moved it slowly, his eyes taking on a more dragon-like appearance, almost glowing with each of the bird's moans. "Does it?" He held one of Suzaku's hips steady as he moved his hand over him, and he pressed himself against the back of one of his thighs, rubbing his own sex against the soft flesh. "How badly do you want more?"

“More,” Keith shift his thigh to push Seiryuu against the yielding skin of his lower butt cheek. He moved harder to his gentle pull. Nothing was burning him, nothing was painful, all Suzaku felt right now was the growing ache for the Azure Dragon. He wanted Seiryuu to take back every part of Keith that was left dry and barren of him and provide an oasis.

Feathers appeared like trendy colored ornaments in his hair, replacing the fire shaded highlights with soft down. “Give me everything.”

"I will if you tell me how badly you want it." Lance moaned as he rubbed himself against Suzaku's heated flesh, his own skin soaking up that warmth like the strongest of the sun's rays were heating him to his very core. He moved his hand faster, then a little slower, keeping the pacing uneven because if he could drive Suzaku crazy, the moans that would come from the other man would make it all worth it. 

Keith moaned and pulled at the pillow under his head, his body unsure how to move and struggling to find a pace that Seiyruu wasn’t going to change the moment Keith tried to match it. It was maddening. Keith’s cries alternated between mewls of pleasure and whimpers of frustration. “Fu-“ He cut himself off, whimpering as his talon hooked fingers gripped into the pillow. He couldn’t shout things like that. He wasn’t some barroom whore and this wasn’t a two-bit redtube porn. They were paired gods for Christ’s sake. Then Seiryuu’s hand slowed down again making Keith buck his hips under the dragon’s weight.

“Fuck!” Oh well, he’d been human for too damn long. “Have me. I want it, I want it badly. You can do anything, I don’t care as long as you do something.” Keith arched himself back against Seiryuu’s heated organ and he felt his wings flutter and burn brighter, shifting into iridescent dancing flames. 

"I am doing something, aren't I?" But Lance moved his hand faster for Suzaku, licking his own lips in anticipation of the climax the fiery god below him was about to hit. "Show me." He whispered as he rubbed himself against Keith's flesh, his fingers pressing into his hip to hold him as best he could despite the bucking. 

“Seiryuu!” Light and heatless flame ignited over the room. Keith thrusted back on Seiryuu as if the god were already in him and emptied himself against his hand, hips jerking with each discharging push his muscles pressed out of him. 

The small motes of red light flickered and filled the room again like small dying embers spreading off his wings as he fell heavily into the bed. His wings, in full visible plume, laid limp beside him. Each feather lined with fine barbs of gold and red swirling through. His tail feathers laying off to one side of his hip, pooling about each other in a glittering thatch work of precious metals.

Lance pulled his hand back and looked down at the mess before he brought it to his lips to taste, eyes narrowing as he tried to remember the last time he had felt this way. "Mmm. Good." He let go of Suzaku's hip and let the other man settle. The chill in his own body had moved, pushed out of his back by Suzaku's radiating warmth, and ice crystals seemed to form, melt, and form again, taking shape as crystalline scales that reflected Suzaku's light like ripples on the surface of a lake. 

When he felt the weight, he looked over his old shoulder and watched the lazy s-curves his tail made before he smirked and brought it around, using the tip of it to tease up the back of one of Keith's legs, sliding over his flesh and pausing just at the back of his knee.

“A-ah!” Keith had just caught his breath and that bastard was at it again. “Your tail!” His voice came out a broken plea and not the disgruntled growl he meant for it be. But gods that tail. Like a cube of ice it moved over is skin. The frost permeating into him. His legs twitched, the muscles in his back and down to his thighs tightened and relaxed as he moaned Seiryuu’s name into the pillow. 

"You always did like it, didn't you?" Lance let it slide up Suzaku's thigh, smirking just a bit when he slid it between his legs, almost touching his heat, but then pulling away and sliding back down his thigh again. "Do you want to stay like this, or do you want to look at me?"

“Seiryuu!” Keith yipped at the nearly there touch of his tail. “You’re trying to kill me…” Came the whimper as he turned his body instead of answering the man’s question. His wings laid sprawled and open to either side of him, catching the light. In the dark, the barely visible a sheen of gold and ruby dust glittered over Suzaku’s human form. 

“You look like you’re not much better off.” Keith lifted his hand to move his finger over one forming scale, then another. They were winter cold and soothed his fingers, much like the one still hanging in his ear. 

"I would never try to kill you. Even metaphorically." Lance smiled down at Suzaku when the other man rolled over to look at him, and his eyes half closed at those heated digits as they moved over the scales materializing at his elbow. He leaned down and kissed the firebird then, moaning into his mouth and pressing his own sex against that of the slightly smaller man. "I'm not very well off at all." He whispered against his lips. "Can you feel what you do to me?"

“You made sure I felt it the whole time you groped me.” Keith moved his hands up and slid them around Seiryuu’s back, smirking a little as he continued to move his fingers down to find the base of his tail. Skilled fingers teased the flesh where scales melted into skin, growing bolder as they moved down the hump of the serpentine appendage. 

"Nnn. I did." Lance's hips bucked forward a bit and he pressed more against him. "But you liked it." He lowered a hand to slide one finger over Suzaku's tip. "The evidence is still here."

“Aha… I did.” Keith panted out. “Because it was you and you play me so well.” He twitched to life again in Seiryuu’s hand. “This body was made for you, after all.”

Something about hearing that made Lance shudder a bit and he leaned down, kissing Suzaku with centuries of passion. He slid his fingers over him and then moved his hand below him, a finger testing his opening. "Only for me?" He whispered against Suzaku's lips. "No one else?"

“Of course. It was our sin.” Keith leaned up and kissed him back. “We were banished together. If I never step foot in to heaven again, every curse would be worth it a thousand-fold. I still have an eternity of living in sin with you.” He kissed along his jaw, then back to his lips. 

Lance groaned against his lips and pushed a finger into him. "Yes... But I will kill anyone else who touches you." He looked down at him, those dragon eyes almost glowing. "You're mine."

That look sent shivers through Keith’s body, feathers ruffling. “I know.” He moved both his hands down and around his tail, moving them in alternating patterns around the base. “I’m yours. Only yours. Created of flesh and flame just for you.” He kissed him again, pushing his tongue forcefully into his mouth.

Lance readied him as he kissed him back, moaning into it and rubbing himself against Suzaku. "And you won't leave me again." He groaned as if the idea was enough to almost send him over the edge. 

“Never again.” Keith whispered against his lips. He gasped with each push those cold fingers into his heated body. It felt so damn good, what else could do? “Keith.” He whimpered this incarnation’s name to Seiryuu, wanting to hear it from the god’s lips. “I’m Keith now.”

Lance pulled his hand back once he was sure Suzaku was ready for him, and he lifted his head so he could look at him. "Lance." He whispered to his’s ear as he shifted and lifted Keith's hips enough to line up properly. "I love you, Keith..." And he pushed into him with a groan.

“Ah-ah!” Keith arched up wings rippling with golden light as he pushed his shoulders into the bed to lift hips against Lance, letting the other god support his weight. Keith’s hands caressed down his lover’s arms stopping to feel every scale. His voice broke with the gentle thrust of cold flesh into the heat of his body.

"Fuck!" Lance watched Keith's face, moaning as he felt the pleasure Keith was expressing. His fingers pressed into Keith's hips as he moved, each thrust slow, but deep. He could feel the heat transferring between them, and as it filled him and melted the last of the ice, he groaned.

“Mmng! F-faster Lance!” Lance was driving Keith crazy. They’d have plenty of time to take it slow, and for romance. Now wasn’t about that. He wanted lust. He wanted abandon. He wanted to feel every minute they were separated dissipate within his cries. 

"I'm still stiff, be patient with me..." Lance managed between moans, but he was able to move his hips a little faster, but probably not as fast as Keith wanted. "Nnn!"

It wasn’t the pacing Keith had issue with. His own damn body was making him feel too much. Every nerve, every muscle, and every hidden area of pleasure awakened as Lance thrust against him. It forced him to tense and tighten around him, so desperate to release the pressure building inside.

Lance couldn't help it when his pleasure filled him and he climaxed, his hips bucking through the release, a long moan escaping his lips. But he didn't stop. He kept moving his hips even after he finished.

“Ah! Ha!” Ice poured into Keith. A frozen ecstasy, only a fire god understood, overtook the smaller frame. The burn inside him quelled. The pain and the ache left him as though washed away by the essence of his lover spreading inside him. “Nnm,” He moaned. “Do more.” 

"Nnn." Lance couldn't even formulate words as his hips continued to move. He bowed his head and rested his forehead against Keith's shoulder, his tongue coming out to taste his flesh whenever he could manage it. 

“Aaah! So… good!” Keith turned head to the side and fell drunkenly into the rhythm of Lance’s thrusts.

“Mmn, fuck Lance. Ahh!” He turned his head back into the other god; lips, tongue, and teeth tormenting his ear until an ancient wickedness glinted in Keith’s eyes. 

Keith kissed Lance’s temple, and nuzzled his nose into his hair, searching. “Found it.” The avian god purred just as he took a lick on a small hidden horn.

"AH!" The nibble on his ear was one thing, but that lick on his horn was another. Lance lost control of his body at that point, his hips thrusting wildly. 

“Mnph! Emph!!” Keith clutch Lance close, his legs wrapping around his waist holding him tight and pushing him deeper. “Damnit ah!” He came. His arms shooting up over his head and gripping the head board. The wood creaked under the force of his grasp. His legs tighten around Lance, holding him inside to feel every tremor, arch, and swoon Keith’s body made. 

Lance fell over that edge a second time, his hips still bucking as the last drops of his pleasure escaped him. Once he was done, he was spent, and he slid out of Keith, practically collapsing on top of him, his face lazily nuzzling into the other man's neck as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Mm… how was it?” Keith panted out, his legs slipping akimbo to the bed.

Lance groaned and licked at Keith's neck, still panting a bit, but unable to speak. 

“Hmm…” Keith curled into him. “Me too.”

When Lance was finally able to breathe better, he groaned a little again and mumbled. "You play dirty, you know that?"

“You came inside me twice. Are you complaining?” Keith smiled as he hugged him closer. “You’re the one who taught me how to play. A little late now.”

"Not complaining, no." Lance pouted against Keith's neck. "But I didn't want to lose it like that after not being able to hold you for so long." He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around him. 

“After that long and not losing it, I’d wonder if I was any good.” Keith nuzzled his cheek. “We have the rest of eternity to make love. Tonight, I couldn’t fight my desperation for you.” He gently played with Lance’s hair. “I’ll always be yours.”

"But I'm desperately in love with you." Lance kept his eyes closed, still nuzzling into Keith's neck. 

Keith smiled and settled into sensation of Lance being so close. “I feel so much better now. It’s been ages since I last felt cool.” He said as he stretched out on the bed, eyes closed and one hand cradling Lance’s neck. His fingers playing with the soft waves of brown hair. 

“I’ll feel the snow against my skin, again.” He turned his head to the bright city back drop, watching the snow continue to come down. “Mm.. businesses will be closed tomorrow.”

"It's not like we're going to be leaving this room tomorrow anyway," Lance murmured against Keith's neck. "I won't let you leave me..."

“Oh? You make it sound so creepy.” Keith hit him on the head to aid his jest. “Are you sure you don’t want to get me collar?” He smirked as he reached over to the night stand to grab a bottle of water, his earring shimmer in the light.

Lance reached out and touched the scale on Keith's earring and he shook his head. "I don't want to own you. You're not a dog..." He let his finger slide up the shell of his ear, and then down to his neck. "I want you to love me. I want you to want to be with me. But I won't force you to do any of that."

“Nn..” Keith’s hand faltered at Lance’s touch, the bottle dropping on its side. “It was a joke. A piece of jewelry can’t break me like that.” He whispered, his head still turned to the side, eyes partly open as his out-stretched hand twitched, powerless to Seiryuu.

Lance caught the bottle with his tail and set it back upright. "A joke? All right." He slid his fingers over Keith's chin and to his lips, touching them gently. "Keith...? Do you think you'll want to leave me? You keep making that joke..."

“I never want to leave you. Even back then. When they gave me a choice, do you remember what I said?” Keith turned his head back to him, smiling as he grabbed the necklace pooled against him and brought it up to his lips, kissing the gold and ruby feather.

Lance turned enough so Keith grabbing his necklace wouldn't pull against his neck too much with the position they were in. "Of course I do." He rested his hand over the one that held the feather. "Knowing that you could have stayed there, but didn't because you wanted to be with me is honestly what kept me sane this entire time." He pulled Keith's hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles. "You took my fault and made it your own, and you didn't have to do that."

“Well I wasn’t gonna let them place me as a victim.” Keith pouted. “What kind of bullshit is that? Like you took me by force? Pish, I’d have blasted you into the wall if I didn’t want it, and I didn’t want anyone to think you were the kind who would hurt me.” Keith’s voice softened.

"I'm not so smooth either hm?" Lance arched a brow. "I seduced you pretty thoroughly, and you didn't think I was smooth."

“Well. I’m just a sucker for a hopeless cause.” Keith nuzzled in, his wings wrapping around Lance an pulling him in to their warmth. “I wouldn’t let them take you from me. I’m just sorry they made you watch as they took away my mansions.” Keith closed his eyes to the memory.

Mansions, or moons, where what provided the celestial beasts with their power. Each of the five had seven individual abilities gifted them by their moons. Having powers stripped away was painful enough. Watching a lover forced to watch it happen before a crowded court room, was tantamount to the prima nocta.”

"You don't have to apologize for their actions. I was the one who started it. I knew they would punish me more than they punished you. They wanted me to suffer, and when taking my mansion and pulling my claws wasn’t enough for them, they knew making me watch your punishment would break me." Lance kept holding Keith's hands. "You should hate me for it."

“I knew what they would do. You can’t kill in heaven, but it’s amazing what they’ll do to an immortal body.” Keith shook his head, as though the simple action could rid him of a millennia of bitterness. 

“Half of them are dead and forgotten, now. The great thing about being a symbol in the sky is that no matter how much time passes, the stars endure.” He moved his hand to stroke over Lance’s cheek. “So do we.” 

"That's probably because we're both stubborn as hell." Lance nuzzled Keith's hand a moment before he turned his head enough to kiss his palm. "Though, now, after all these years, being clawless is probably a good thing. At least they didn't take my fangs."

“Gives you a good grip.” Keith smirked. “This body probably couldn’t hold up to your claws.”

"I wouldn't have the fortitude to get a manicure or anything relatively frequently, so..." Lance chuckled a little. "Also I wouldn't want to scratch you."

“But bites are fine?” Keith leaned up lick his nose.

"Well, bites are on purpose. I'd end up scratching you accidentally." 

“It heals. I don’t mind since it’s you. And the bites feel pretty good.” Keith said with a cheeky grin. “My Dragon.” 

Lance's ears reddened and he once again pressed his face into Keith's neck. "You're so weird..."

“I am? I thought you liked it when I called you that.” Keith looked thoughtful for a moment, then smirked. “Okay, Lizard King it is.”

"I didn't say I didn't like it. I like that you're weird." Lance groaned at the second nickname. "I'm not a lizard."

“Hmmm, long tail, scales, cold blooded, fangs, forked. Tongue.” Keith nipped at Lance to put emphasis on the last two words. When their world consisted of only the two of them, this other side of him started to come to the surface. A side who was flirty and sultry.

Lance pouted against his neck and shook his head slightly. "I know you like my tongue, but I won't use it if you call me a lizard again."

“Threats.” Keith’s fingers strummed though Lances hair. I missed you so much. Even without realizing it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

"I'll forgive you if you apologize for calling me that." Lance curled in closer and wrapped his arms and tail around Keith as if he was afraid to let him go. "I missed you too." 

“I’m sorry.” Keith apologized again as he lifted his body up and allowed Lance to twine his tail around him. He loved it when he did that. It was like a coil of ice moving through his body and he all but swooned to it.

"I forgive you." Lance curled into Keith, holding him as close as he could without crushing him or disturbing his wings or tail. This was the only heat that could ever truly warm him, and he never wanted to be without it again. "Keith...? Where will we live?"

“Mmm…” Keith whispered sleepily. “If we’re together, anywhere.” 

"That's not helpful, but we can talk later." Lance started to feel himself drifting due to the sleepy tone of Keith's voice.

“Hmm,” Keith nuzzled his nose into him. How could he have ever given this up. Something had to be wrong with him to walk away from this perfect creature so often, and yet he still came to him. Gathered him up and made this hotel room their home for a night. “I love you.”

"Say it again." Lance murmured. "Please." He did his best to keep his eyes closed because he knew tears would fall if he opened them. 

“I love you, Lance.” Keith nuzzled his ear. 

"Thank you." Lance whispered, his hands trembling a bit. 

“Rest for now. We can talk in the morning.”


	2. What Now?

Warmth.

Lance hadn't felt warmth like this in centuries. He hadn't slept a full night's sleep in about as long because he was always just so cold. The first hundred years It was tolerable with blankets and a fire, and he usually only woke up once or twice a night. The second hundred years, it kept him tossing and turning for hours, which also meant he was waking up more often. The third meant he stayed awake more nights than he slept, and so the only sleep he could get was an hour or two each afternoon in the direct heat of the sun. The fourth, well...

And yet he slept peacefully in Keith's arms. The warmth radiating from the other man was enough to make those centuries melt away as though none of it had happened. It did happen, of course. Lance had the emotional scarring to prove it, but he wasn't sure it mattered in this moment. Not with his arms around Keith and Keith's arms around him. This is what it was supposed to be like. This is what they should have had even if they hadn't been expelled from heaven.

Lance nuzzled his face into the crook of Keith's neck, soaking in his warmth and breathing in his scent. His tail had vanished, as it tended to do a few hours after intense sex, but that only enabled him to cuddle up to Keith more, to hold him closer. He didn't want this to end. Even if he had to wake up, he had no intention of letting his lover go unless he had to.

“Mm…” Keith shifted, whimpering. He was confined, and it was somewhat uncomfortable but so sweetly fringed. A winter chill encased him, and he wanted to bury himself. Keith loved the cold. Loved the feel of snowflakes on his tongue, and the sensation of a cold shower on a hot day. Lance was all those things. His kiss was tasting fresh snow. To lick his skin was to run your tongue over the edge of an icicle. His embrace was an arctic wind blowing away the heat of summer to bring the turn of fall. 

Keith yawned, arching his back up from the bed to loosen the arms around him. “Lance, immortals still need to breathe.” He delivered the words with a kind tone. Keith was aware of the Dragon’s reasons but Keith’s human frame was as frail as any other, well with a few enhancements here and there, but it was far frailer than when he was a true god.

Lance's arms loosened a bit, but he didn't pull away from the other man. "Sorry." He mumbled and tried to bury his face in Keith's hair, the soft strands tickling his cheek, but feeling much like the gentle touch of an inquisitive lover. "You're just so warm, I can't help it..." He whispered and kept his eyes closed. Now that he had him, he was going to do his best never to let him go, at least metaphorically. 

“Are you hungry? Do you need anything?” Keith looked toward the window, the snow was still coming down in white feather-like flakes. The abnormality of it occurred to him in a passing thought. Snows like this didn’t happen in cold snaps. The air was too dry, moisture frozen before it can even ascend. However, the sky and everything it touched was in complete wash out, leaving the two gods in a monotone world. 

Keith looked over at Lance, his brilliant Azure Dragon. His fingers brushed the small tufts of hair over his forehead, the brown locks still too short to cover his eyes. As he stared at their contrasting skin his thoughts drifted. Back then, in their small cloistered world, he didn’t have a word for it. Lance’s appearance was exotic. Bronze skin, sea-blue eyes, brown stubborn cowlicked hair. Keith believed Seiryuu was trying to send a message, ‘he’d been kissed by the sun and favored by her warmth.’ Keith blushed now, thinking about that. He never picked up it until now, but it was still speculation, and after all this time he hadn’t asked. 

In Ancient China, Lance stood out like a sore thumb. He was brazen and self-assured that no one would get the in joke. Now, after their punishment and seeing this world, Lance fit in with a people that became known as Cubans. A beautiful race of humans with a recent proven ability to strive and celebrate. It was fitting. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I always seem to forget. Why this body? You could have created anything.” It was an intimate question to ask a god, exiled or not, about their earthly vessel. Gender was not as important to Keith. Back in heaven they’d fooled around as men, as women, as either or, and both. It always felt good. But they had been given male bodies to prevent procreation, and they also lacked the ability to lay seed within any other being. The last thing heaven wanted was a multitude of half gods running around on the planet. They’d learned their lesson from the Greeks in that regard. 

"Hm?" Lance turned his head and opened his eyes, looking at Keith before he slowly sat up and stretched his arms over his head. He was still half asleep, but when the intimacy of the question hit his tired brain, his cheeks darkened, and his eyes widened. "Eh?" He looked at Keith, the blush spreading over his nose and to his ears. "If...I tell you, you have to promise not to make fun of me. And then you have to tell me the same." If he was going to spill his secrets, then Keith better return the favor. After all, Keith’s chosen form was closer in appearance to the people of their land than Lance’s was. His inky hair blended in with the men in China, and his delicate, pale skin seemed to blend in with the women. 

“I think that’s fair.” Keith said with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"All right." Lance coughed and cleared his throat. "I thought you'd be the most attracted to this form." He looked at Keith for a moment, but then looked off to the side. "And I thought you'd understand I really meant it that first day when I said I liked you, and I didn't want to fight with you anymore. You're bright like the sun, so I wanted to look like someone who had been blessed by the sun their entire life. I wanted to stand out to you, and I thought if I had darker skin and browner hair, you’d notice me more, and you would find me more attractive because I wasn’t like everyone else."

Keith blinked. “So it was true? You are really that cocky?”

"Hopeful is more like it." Lance's brows furrowed a bit and he shook his head. "I wanted you to understand me..."

“But you, that,” Keith sat up and ran a hand through his hair before he started laughing. It wasn’t cruel or cynical as to what Lance was expecting. It was warm like chiming crystal. “You are a crazy son of a bitch!” Keith turned his head toward him, his eyes glittering with amusement. “You honestly didn’t give a damn, did you?” Keith touched his cheek and leaned up to kissed the center of Lance’s forehead. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you are an adorable idiot. Though I’m a far cry from the sun.” 

Lance looked at him, and his shoulders slumped, the blush fading from his cheeks. The kiss Keith likely thought was reassuring was anything but. "You...promised not to make fun of me." He sighed and bowed his head a little. "If you're the center of my universe, that makes you my sun. Don't be so mean. I shouldn't have told you." 

“I’m not making fun of you.” Keith nuzzled his nose against Lance’s cheek. “I’m flattered. I really am. I entertained the idea, but I didn’t think it was true.” He danced his fingers over his leanly muscled chest. “I love this body more, now.” He spoke an honest truth. The revelation made Keith re-evaluate the form he’d known for over a millennium. “I’m not trying to be mean either. I’m happy. Before you knew my answer, you went this far.” Keith kissed his eye lids then his nose. “I’ll have to kiss every part made for me.”

“I didn’t expect you to be a romantic. But it makes sense, I guess you did that whole ‘fertility’ thing for a while.” But that was why Keith couldn’t keep calm when the atmosphere opened to sex and carnal need. Seiryuu had that pull, and was an endless flirt. Suzaku was passion and impulse, mixed with a fickle nature. Combined, sexual compatibility didn’t even start to explain their chemistry. 

“You flatter me more than I deserve.”

Lance lifted his head a bit to look at him. "You mean that?" He lifted a hand to touch his cheek. "Why wouldn't I be romantic? I'm water. I'm the one who reacts most to the elements around me. If I'm near fire, I get hot. If I'm away from it, I get cold." He leaned in and kissed him gently. "But I am constant, even when I'm calm or when I'm in a rage. And it's that constancy that makes me like this. I didn't know what love was that first day, but I knew that second, and it was you." 

“Lance.” Keith wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “Well I owe you now. You’re gonna be disappointed, but pretend okay?” Keith took a breath and sat back against the pillows. 

“I was wandering around the country side. It was after a prefecture war I suppose. I didn’t pay a lot of attention at the time. Back then we were barely ideas, I didn’t have a thought that went too deep. I was just a little finch hopping around for all anyone cared.’

‘I saw a woman holding her husband. He was still alive and I remember thinking that he was handsome for a human. I liked his face. I hopped over ‘cause I wanted a closer look. I saw her and it was like I knew then the type of things men would die for. She was beautiful. Even from my standpoint. Her hair reminded me of a raven, skin was white like cream, with red teary cheeks. I moved in a bit. He was still smiling at her. He had these eyes, they were black one second, grey, then blue like a storm cloud, and like a purple. They shifted colors when he was comforting her, and they talked about the future even as he bled out. They talked about having a kid. I knew it wouldn’t happen, and I watched him die while force feeding her that hope. It pissed me off. So, I chose a form that would have come from them. Their child would never live, but I could last forever.” 

Lance listened and just pulled him into his arms, pressing his face into his hair to hide the tears that just slid down his cheeks. How could Keith say such things with such purity? It was like he was the whitest snow, unmarred by all that surrounded him, glowing while surrounded by the perfect contrast of the darkest night. He might have hoped for a more romantic answer, but the answer was so like the Vermillion Bird he had come to love that he wasn’t surprised. Purity, innocence, and everything good in the world. And yet it was the loneliest reason at the same time, so he couldn’t help his tears. 

“Eh? W-why are you crying?” Keith tilted his head up, his eyes wide. 

"That's so sad." Lance whispered, keeping his face hidden as best he could.

“I wasn’t hurt though?” Keith blinked a few times. 

"I know, but it's a sad story." Lance pulled his head back from his hair and pouted at him. 

“Oh?” Keith shook his head, one of his eyebrows quirking up incredulously. Lance had not been trying to comfort him. He had been wishing to comfort himself. “It’s all right now though. I don’t know what happened to her, but I’m sure she went on and had many babies with someone else.” Keith scratched the side of his head. 

“Or something like that. Either way, that’s the story. Sorry it’s not romantic or anything. And it kinda makes me sound like I got some issues. But that’s how it is.” Keith sat more in Lance’s lap so the other fallen god did not have to pull him.

The pout didn't leave his lips, but Lance wrapped his arms around Keith. "It is romantic, it's just not the kind of romantic that would make me feel loved." He looked at him and shook his head a little. "Do...you prefer women then? If she was what men die for?" He tried to look like he was teasing him, but with the tears still on his cheeks, he was sure it was more like jealousy than anything else. Maybe it was. 

“Eh?” Keith reached over to the end table and grabbed a hair tie, he placed it in his mouth as he gathered his hair off his neck, pulling the red and gold under-lights up into the thick black locks. “Prefer women?” Keith tied back the hair with a thoughtful expression. “They have good qualities. They’re soft. Smell good. Hair that’s good to hold. Men are also good. There’s less need to feel restricted. Or gentle.” He turned his head to the side. “I’ve only been with you. In either gender. But my preference? I like what I like.” Keith shrugged. 

Lance watched him, his arms loosening from around him and he looked down at himself as best he could with Keith still sitting on his lap. "I see." He should have known that he'd never get any straight answers from the other man. He either had no idea he was being vague and driving Lance crazy, or he did it on purpose. Lance wasn't sure which one was more likely. And he wasn’t sure why his jealousy flared even as he understood what Keith meant. Even as he glanced up and his eyes followed the delicate curve of that pale neck. He couldn’t help it. 

Keith sighed exasperated when he felt the arms give a little. “Lance, you’re what I like. Male, female, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s you. Do I like the body you’re in now? Yes. I do. I always have. You are what attracts me. To use the cliché, like a moth to the flame. Only instead of burning me you can have your way with me.” He grinned. “Like a bee to honey? Hmm Like a guy to another guy that really knows how to have sex really well?” Metaphors weren’t always the best way to explain things, but he’d make do with that and hope it hit Lance across the face like a ton of airborne bricks. Lance was the only person he’d known that could possibly get jealous of himself as a female. Keith took a second to scratch his temple at the thought. He’d been human long enough that the statement seemed weird to him.

"Sorry. I don't have much confidence anymore." Lance looked at him, looking rather embarrassed and almost a little ashamed. "I know I used to be so bold and, well you called me cocky, but I just..." He rested his forehead against Keith's shoulder, focusing on the slight warmth that seemingly tried to comfort him. "You're my one and only, and I want to be the same for you. And I know I am. I do. I just don't know how to believe it anymore. Please be patient with me."

“Bold?” Keith laughed. “You came right into my palace and seduced me where I laid. Bold doesn’t even begin to describe it!” Keith turned his head nestled his lips against Lance’s temple and into his hair line. “What can I do? I’ve promised you I’d stay. How else can I fix the damage I’ve done to you?”

"I mean if you had said no, I would have left, so yeah I'm going to go with bold." Lance closed his eyes and sighed softly, but he smiled just a little at the nuzzling. "Just keep loving me and be patient with me. I'm going to be defensive and paranoid. I'm going to be clingy and possessive. I'm probably even going to say mean things I don't mean. Be mad at me, tell me when I do something wrong, but don't leave me. Talk to me and work through things with me, but don't storm out and disappear for hours." He opened his eyes to look at him. "I'm sorry. I know it sounds needy..."

“I’ll do my best to be everything you need me to be. I know I haven’t always been patient, and I have a short temper. I’m sorry for being unfit, I guess. I left and I can’t give a reason why.” Keith’s head bowed and he sighed looking upset with far off searching eyes. It was an expression Lance knew. 

Lance slowly lifted his head and looked down at him. He hated when he caused Keith to have that expression. He hated feeling like he had pushed the other man into something unpleasant. He wasn’t entirely sure how to fix it, but he smiled and lifted a hand to push some of those raven strands out of his face. "I don't think you're unfit, and I don't want you to worry about trying to give me a reason. I don't want one. I just want you." He leaned in and kissed him. "With me." Another kiss. "Forever."

Keith moved up for each kiss, his body melting to Lance as his legs wrapped around him, the memory he was chasing already forgotten. “Of course. Just you. Always. That’s never changed.”

"Then don't worry about the reason you left or what you can't remember." Lance smiled and kissed him again, one hand resting on Keith's hip. "We can make new memories."

“I’ll try.” It was all the southern god could say. He was sure he had reasons for leaving, he always had a reason. As soon as he found himself home and into Lance’s forgiving arms, the person he became while apart distorted into a fading dream. This time was different. This time scared him. Never had so much time passed, and the longer he was curled into Lance’s arms the more he returned to himself. He tightened his arms around him. “I love you.”

"I love you too." Lance touched his cheek and smiled. "We'll try together, okay?" He felt a little less anxious than he did earlier, but that slight feeling of dread was still there. He knew Keith didn't want to leave him again. He knew the distance this time was worse than before, and he hoped that it was enough to keep them together this time. He really did not want to think about what could happen to Keith if they spent any more time apart. 

“So, what now?” Keith kissed a fingertip. “We just lay in bed all day?”

"I wouldn't mind that." Lance smiled a little. "We should talk...figure out what we want to do and how we want to do it." 

“I suppose it doesn’t sound bad when you think of it like that. Should I get room service?” Keith asked as he started to get up to find his phone.

"All right." Lance let go of Keith so he could move, shifting to the other side of the bed to watch him. "Anything you want."

Keith stood and stretched, not concerning himself with clothes as he walked into the other room and crouched over his pants to rummage through the pockets. He blew out a puff of air, upsetting his bangs and moved, empty handed, to his torn shirt and pulled his phone out of the front pocket with a pout. 

“Needs to be charged.” He looked around the room, hotels this nice usually had a USB jack for every type of device. When he found it in the bedroom, he stretched across the bed laying on his stomach, legs up as he pulled at a cord searching for the end.

Lance watched him and smiled a little, sitting up. "I guess I should charge mine too." He mumbled, but made no move to get off the bed. He much preferred to stay here and watch the other man. Even when he had left to get his phone and charger, Lance was mesmerized by the way Keith’s muscles moved under his taut flesh. And now that the other man was sprawled across the bed, Lance couldn’t stop himself from staring at the perfect curve of his backside. "Though it probably doesn't matter because no one would call me."

“I would. What’s your number?” Keith looked over his shoulder at Lance and smiled quickly before going back to thumb through a few browser searches. “Feeling up for anything in particular? This area has bite squad they’ll bring almost anything up to a room, and they’re still going even in this weather. I got the app.” 

Lance blinked and rattled off his digits before he shook his head, momentarily tearing his gaze from that perfect form. "I don't know. What is good?"

“Well is there anything you don’t like? Sushi? Pizza? Burgers? Hmm… Sushi sounds good. I haven’t had that for a while.” Keith mused out loud after entering Lance’s number, his hips shifting as if he had a tail he could wag at the idea. 

"That's fine. I like fish." Lance reached out and rested his hand on his back, rubbing just a little because he needed to feel his warmth again, and touching such soft skin didn’t hurt either. "Honestly anything you want is fine with me."

Keith smiled nodding his head and placed the call. When he finished, he folded his arms under his head. “Forty minutes.” He could have gotten up, but he liked the gentle weight of Lance’s hand on his bare back, so he settled himself where he was, closing his eyes.

"Then we should put some clothes on so no one sees us naked." Lance kept rubbing his back, careful of the two spots for his wings. He wanted to touch him without turning him on, at least for right now.

“Mnm.” Keith stretched out, turning his head to Lance before curling his arms back to rest it on them. “But this feels good.”

"It does, but if anyone sees you naked, I'll pout for days." Lance poked Keith's cheek. "I don't want to share that with anyone."

Keith grinned. “We have forty minutes. I can throw a shirt on in about thirty-nine minutes.”

"I'm more concerned about what your pants would cover, but okay." Lance shook his head and pulled his hand back. He climbed off the bed to get his phone out of his discarded jeans, brows furrowing when it was completely dead, but he plugged it in and set it down, walking back to the bed and touching Keith's hair. "Are you happy?"

“I sent you a text. That’ll give you my number.” Keith shut one eye when Lance’s hand came to his hair and he sunk down again for more of the man’s pampering. “Some parts of me are happy. Other parts, I don’t know. When I think about certain things, it’s upsetting to me, but I don’t want to think about them. Not yet. I just want to enjoy being back with you.”

"I'll get it when my phone turns back on." Lance shook his head and stroked his hair. "Don't think about the upsetting things. Let's just focus on the good for now." He smiled a bit. He should take his own advice as well. "As long as you're happier now than you were without me, I'm content."

“I am. It seems like a fog, my time without you. It’s weird.” Keith closed his eyes. “Like I never left you, but I know that’s not true.”

Lance continued to play with Keith's hair, twisting it between his fingers, but not tugging. "But we can make up for that time, so you don't need to worry about it." He smiled a little. He knew he wouldn't just be able to forget all that time without Keith, but if he could comfort him about it, and Keith accepted his comfort, then Lance would be fine as well. He lived for this man, and he knew Keith’s happiness was the ray of hope that would keep Lance from growing cold once more.

“That’s not normal, right? You don’t feel that way.”

"Just because I feel differently doesn't mean what you feel isn't normal." Lance blinked a little. "We both had different experiences, so of course we wouldn't necessarily feel the exact same way. But if you feel that comfortable with me, like you were never without me, I'm okay with that."

Keith looked up at Lance, concern furrowing his brow but he nodded settling in. That wasn’t how Keith meant it. No matter how sweet or romantic it sounded. There was a haze falling over his memories. It wasn’t that he was forgetting them, not exactly, but more like they were someone else’s life. Someone else’s slide show going through his head. Was his mind really that fickle? Centuries of time developing himself, and it amounts to just that? A few mental postcards? A ‘Wish you were here’? It was like it didn’t matter, washed out and strung out. Though did that person matter? His colors were here. The Azure Dragon. His dragon.

Keith turned his body around, the sheet whispering as it clung to him from hip to hip, the only thing keeping his modesty. He stared up at his lover with wordless contemplation.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lance looked down at Keith, growing increasingly uncomfortable with his stares and silence. 

“No. No.” Keith shook his head. How could he let anything get to him, when he had that face looking down at him. Lance’s beautiful caramel toned face. Keith reached his hand up, stroking his lover’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “Nothing you said is wrong. Nothing is wrong. Not when I have you.” Keith leaned up and started to kiss the other man, sweet turning into savory as he let them linger. 

Lance was about to protest because something clearly wasn't okay given Keith's previous expression, but he couldn't really argue once he was kissed, so he kissed him back, his eyes half closing. "Keith..." He murmured against his lips. He wanted him. He wanted to feel the heat of that lithe body press against him. He wanted to wrap him in his arms and keep him all to himself, but he also didn't want to push it. He didn't want to make the other man feel uncomfortable, so he simply smiled a little. "The food will be here soon, right?" 

“Twenty-five minutes. That’s more than enough time.” Keith continued to kiss him, tasting the winter from his lips.

Lance groaned a little. "If you get me worked up, I'm going to want more than twenty-five minutes." 

“You’re not worked up already?” Keith grinned holding his cheek as he kissed him again. “But I suppose I should put clothes on. Unless you want me to stay here, naked, in bed and wait for you to return with food.”

"Well I am worked up, but I also am super unwilling to let anyone else see or hear you when we're doing that." Lance returned Keith's kiss. "We should both put clothes on. Don't want to eat in the bed, especially if we're going to spend the majority of the day in it." 

Keith stood up and surveyed the room. “That will work,” he said as he walked to the bathroom and took up a robe, “how’s this? You do you think I’ll still tempt the driver too much?”

"You probably will no matter what you wear, but at least you're covered." Lance looked him over and smiled a little bit at the way Keith looked in that robe. The way the cloth seemed to shift when he walked out of the bathroom, giving a little more glimpse of his leg than he probably intended. To distract himself and keep the butterflies in his stomach from going wild, Lance grabbed his clothes and pulled his underwear and jeans on. 

“You think too highly of me. Or you’ve been thoroughly corrupted by me.” 

"Or you're sexy." Lance shrugged and pulled his shirt on, looking down at how loose it was since he had been wearing several layers for a while, even though this one wasn't even one of the top layers. He sighed a bit and shook his head. He had some spare clothes in his car, but they would all be as big as these. At least his jeans weren't too huge. "But maybe I'm biased." He continued, looking at Keith again. 

“That’s a safe guess. But I am still just a guy.” Keith smirked. “But I’m flattered.” Keith sat back down on the edge of the bed, the robe opening to a V down his chest.

"Well as long as you like it when I call you sexy, but you don't want to hear anyone else call you that." Lance reached up and fixed his robe a little. “And this is mine to see, so please don’t share it with anyone else.”

Keith watched him, smiling as Lance fussed over his clothes. “That, and you think that I can turn anyone on.” He shook his head. “The only attention I want is yours. Isn’t that obvious?”

"Well I do think you can turn anyone on. I'm glad I'm the one you want." Lance leaned in and kissed him. "I won't complain about that at least."

Keith stroked Lance’s hair after the kiss. “Again, you’re sucking up and you don’t have to.” He leaned into to kiss him again when the door buzzed. “Oh. It’s here.”

Lance nodded and looked at him, but then he shook his head and kissed Keith once more before he walked to the door to handle it since he was better dressed anyway. He quietly tipped the guy and took the food, thanking him and smiling a little nervously before he shut the door and brought it to the table. "Here..." He started setting it all out for both of them. 

Keith grabbed a few glasses from the kitchenette. “Anything to drink? Minibar looks stocked, but expensive.”

"I'm okay with water." Lance looked a little sheepish. "Well, since I can drink it now without it freezing."

“Ah.” Keith lowered his eyes and handed him the bottle of water as he sat down on the opposite side of the table. “Sorry.”

Lance shook his head. "I didn't say it to make you feel bad. I'm just not sure what else I like. I've been drinking hot tea for a long time." He reached out and touched Keith's hand. "It's nothing you need to apologize for now. We're back together, right?"

Keith turned his hand up so Lance to take it. “I know. It just—” his head bowed, his hair falling forward in silken black waves. Hard to believe he was found in an alley just the night before. Keith’s hair, skin and even his hands were well taken care of and manicured. 

Lance held his hand and smiled at him. "I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that's glad you feel bad about it, not because I want you to feel bad, but because you feeling bad means you really love me." He leaned down and kissed the top of his head, but then he pulled his chair right next to Keith's so he could still hold his hand. 

“Well that’s a bit back handed.” Keith sighed but leaned his shoulder against Lance’s as he started eating. “I can actually taste it!” He almost darted up from his chair “It doesn’t taste like ash!”

"I don't mean it that way, I hope you know that." Lance let go of his hand only because they were eating, and he smiled a little. "Does it taste good?" He ate some himself and his cheeks seemed to redden a bit. "Wow."

Keith blinked at Lance, smiling brightly before he dug in. He stuffed his face as far as it would go, swallowing and drinking the water like he’d been half starved. “So. Good.” He kept eating, licking his lips. Fuck table manners and screw savoring anything. He hadn’t even tasted anything in a decade.

Tears came to Lance's eyes as he ate each piece. He wasn't digging in completely like Keith was, but that was mostly because he was also watching his partner and smiling at the pure enjoyment he knew he felt. He was captivated by the way Keith’s cheeks pinked, the way his eyes lit up with each bite. It didn’t matter that he was shoveling food in like a half-starved child. What mattered was the sure enjoyment he was feeling.

“Not good?” Keith cocked his head to the side, rice stuck to the corner of his mouth. 

"Amazing." Lance leaned in and kissed away that piece of rice, smiling. "But I'm also enjoying watching you. You look so happy."

Keith swallowed, finally looking a bit embarrassed. “It’s I forgot what food tasted like!” Keith lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it so much." Lance leaned in and kissed him again. "It makes me happy to see you happy."

Keith kissed him back this time. “And you’re enjoying it too?” He ended up tilting his head more for it, licking his lips when he moved away to breath.

"Very much. I haven't had such delicious food in a long time." Lance nuzzled his cheek when Keith pulled away. "I didn't know food could taste this good."

“You are talking about the sushi, right?”

"Well you taste good too." Lance smiled.

“You do too.” Keith’s eyes darkened as his fingers slid up to touch Lance’s lips, and the tips were starting to get hotter. 

Lance gently kissed those fingers, letting his tongue slide out to taste the tip of one. "The best I've ever had." 

Keith’s fingers twitched and moved as Lance’s tongue moved. “You are the best.” He whispered, his eyes fixated on Lance’s tongue, his own licking his lips. Maybe it was centuries without him, maybe it was the excitement of the last day, maybe it was the hotel room on a snowed in day and the way Lance’s brilliant blue overpowered the gray sky. Or they simply got turned on by the pleasure of tasting real food, whatever it was, Keith’s body stirred.

"You flatter me." Lance kissed one of those fingertips one more time before he leaned in and kissed him again, a slow, lingering kiss, the taste of Keith enhancing the flavor of the sushi. "Do you want to do it again?"

Keith’s eyes remained glued to Lance’s, and he whispered an eloquent “Yeah.”

"Me too." Lance whispered before kissing him again. "But we should put the food away so it doesn't go bad. We're probably going to be hungry after." He kissed him again. "Where do you want to do it?"

“Where?” Keith felt like he was entering a daze. “Here. Here is good.”

"On the table?" Lance's kisses progressed to Keith's jaw. "Then we definitely need to clean up the food."

Keith shivered, then glared at the offending dishes. “We should push them to the floor.” 

"And waste good food?" Lance kissed his jaw, then his neck, nuzzling the soft flesh. "I will clean up. Can you be patient?" 

“Mean.” Keith whimpered. If he was going to make him wait, why would he continue to torment him? And with his hair pulled up he was defenseless to those kisses. “I can be good.”

"Good." Lance kissed his neck once more before he pulled back and cleaned up the food, putting it in the small fridge by the minibar and turning back around to look at him. 

Keith watched Lance move about the room, carefully putting everything back in the containers and setting it the minifridge. Considering how hungry the two of them were Keith was surprised there was anything left. If he hadn’t started craving something else, there might not have been. 

“Are you almost done?” Keith asked, standing up while he pulled on robe’s tie. It slipped and pooled partly to the floor, the weight of the soft fleece pulling the robe to one side and catching on Keith’s elbow. 

Smoldering eyes watched Lance continue to move about, the irises shimmering like the corona of an eclipse, behind him the constant wing shaped waves of heat started to carry the small motes of red ember.

Lance shivered when he saw that look, and his eyes traveled from Keith's face, down his neck and along that now exposed flesh. The warm light of the room only made his skin look more inviting. "Yes." He murmured as he took slow, calculated steps back to the table, reaching out to touch his cheek. "Thank you for waiting for me."

Keith caught his questing thumb between his lips, eyes on Lance, watching his every expression and whimpering as he tasted Seiryuu’s flesh. Cold and sweet with a touch of salt. “Worth waiting for.”

"Mmm. Glad you think so." Lance groaned a little and leaned in, pulling his thumb away so he could kiss Keith. 

While being kissed, Keith started to lay back on the glass topped table, spreading his legs to allow Lance the freedom and slipping between them. His body was already hot, and it was made obvious by the wings laying open against the table. Embers, trapped within the wings, moved faster than a moment ago.

Lance leaned forward once he settled between Keith's legs, his eyes darkening as he reached to push Keith's robe completely open. Something about the way the other man’s chest moved as he breathed caused him to lose himself for a moment. "You must want me a lot right now." He leaned down and kissed him. 

“Am I that easy to read?” Keith arched up as if pulled by an invisible line and returned Lance’s kiss. One arm wrapping around his shoulders, while the other came down between Lance’s legs, rubbing at his confined sex.

"Well the wings are a pretty big hint." Lance pushed himself against Keith's hand as he slid his own hand down the paler man's exposed stomach. "But you're doing a lot of things that are pretty big clues." He kissed him again. 

“I’m easy when it comes to you.” Keith kissed him back, moaning again into his mouth, whimpering as his hand pressed harder. “Off.”

Lance pulled his hand away from Keith to undo his jeans, pushing them down and looking at him with a slight grin before he slowly pushed his underwear down too. "Only for you."

Gold fire and igniting embers flared in his wings. “Do you know how aggravating it is to keep losing myself to you, like this?” Keith licked at Lance’s lower lip, his leg wrapping around the other god’s waist to lift himself toward his hips. “You turned me into a pervert.”

"Oh? So you're aggravated about being attracted to me? That's pretty mean." Lance let Keith move him as he wanted, but he did not put his hand back on his stomach. "I don't think I turned you into a pervert. I just encouraged you to act on your desire."

“Aggravated because I can’t think of anything else.” Keith pulled Lance in with his leg, a pout turning into a smirk. “Encouraged? I’d say you fully endorsed, and were the number one benefactor in my self-discovery. I need to get it out of my system, otherwise we’ll never this room.” 

"Oh? And it's bad to think about having sex with me?" Lance pressed himself against Keith and slowly moved his hips to rub against him. "I should be insulted." He pouted this time, but he finally rested a hand on the other man's body, sliding up one of his thighs. 

“Bad? No. But how can I function if it’s all I can think about?” Keith exaggerated, being playful more than serious, but this could not have happened at a worse time. At several moments in the last 12 hours, Keith wanted to explain his current world to Lance, but those moments melted and evaporated away by a prolonged look, a gentle touch, or sweet kiss. They were food to a starving man and to Keith he might has well have not eaten in a century.

"Do you have to function right now?" Lance slowly slid his hand up Keith's thigh until his fingertips brushed against his heated flesh. "Or is it okay if you don't function for a little bit?" He didn't know how to admit he needed to feel Keith as much as Keith apparently needed to feel him. He just needed to be enveloped in his warmth, in any way he could take it. And if Keith's needs matched his own, what was the problem?

Keith couldn’t argue with such sound logic, and he gasped as Lance continued to touch him. “Lance!” Keith curved his hips and pushed up. “Functioning can wait.” 

Keith laid back on the table, his eyes fixed on Lance as he moved his arms above his head to grip the edge of the table.

"I agree." Lance grinned and curled his hand around him. "I like seeing you unable to function like this." He slid his other hand up Keith's stomach and chest, the grin widening.

Delicate tail feathers unfurled with the writhing of Keith’s back. They pooled and spilled down to the floor in a waterfall of sparks and fire. Speckles of gold light drifted from the fine feathers and lifted to float through the room.

Lance moved his hand slowly, watching the way Keith's body shifted in response to the pleasure. The hand he had on his chest stopped just over his heart, and he kept it there even as he started to work over him at a faster pace. 

“Ha! Ah!” Keith gripped the table, twisting his body and pulling his shoulders up. His face turning into his upper arm as he cried out.

"Do you like it?" Lance knew the answer, but he asked anyway. He could feel Keith's heat radiating from him, and he soaked it up as best he could.

“Hnng-mnn!” Suzaku managed to whimper in a way that sounded affirmative. “Shit! Ah! Your hand!! So cold! Aahh!” No longer mindful of his words or his voice, Keith gave in and became what his body felt. Soft cries of abandon mixed with ancient slurs, dropped in desperate notes from his lips. 

"Oh? So you don't like it?" Lance slowed his hand down, and he pulled the other away from his chest. "Should I stop then?" Was it bad that he wanted Keith to say just how much he wanted him?

“No!” Keith gripped Lance’s hand, holding to his chest, his head lifting from the table. Beyond the lust, his eyes held a shade of fear. “Please don’t leave me.” Small pearls of moisture appearing only to be quickly blinked away.

Lance blinked, totally not expecting Keith to react to his teasing that way. He smiled and leaned down, kissing him gently. "I'll never leave you." He renewed his movements, pressing himself close as his hand sped up. How could he deny him what he truly wanted?

Keith whimpered and held Lance close, no longer gripping the table but crushing the other man to him. “I-I’m sorry. I..” his pants and mewls gave way to moans. “Lance!”

Lance shook his head and kissed him as he moved his hand. "Don't apologize." 

“I… ah!” Keith’s head tossed back pulling him from Lance’s kiss, hips bucking once then twice before he came into his lover’s hand, feeling it fall warm and hot against his stomach.

Lance watched him, eyes dark, almost abyssal, as he soaked Keith's heat and watched the way his body arched and writhed with pleasure. "Better?" He whispered, his lips trailing along his jaw.

Keith fell back, wings burning brightly beside him as he watched Lance stare down at him. The hunger in his eyes sent a shiver down Keith’s spine. “Almost. There’s more.”

"All right." The hand Lance had on Keith's chest slid down over his stomach and smeared the mess over his pale flesh, watching the way the light illuminated his skin. He knew that was likely to drive Keith crazy and turn him on even more than he already was. Lance smirked a little as he lowered that hand and slid a finger up along his length, the touch gentle. 

“Mm! Lance!” Keith lifted his legs to the table, feeling his own pleasure get cooled then spread over his body was almost too much for the god. Full wings spread up against the table, leaving steam marks and fog on the glass. He lowered his hands down, hesitating for just a second before they moved further down to his thighs, holding them open. Coal shaded eyes burned into Lance even has his sex twitched to hardness again.

"Yes, Keith?" Lance pulled his hand back only to lower it and slide it beneath Keith's backside, one finger slowly pushing into him. "What is it?" Something about the way Keith so clearly wanted him made Lance want to tease him a little, but he wasn't sure he had it in himself to do that just yet. Or maybe he did. Seiryuu’s tail curled around one of Keith's legs as if helping it hold it in place, but the finned tip moved, sliding over his heat as a wide grin came to his lips.

“Wha? Was? Lance!” Slender shoulders pressed back into the glass. The sensation of being touched by Seiryuu’s tail was more intense than the tease he’d been given the night before. “AHA! JERK!” Keith’s eyes dulled for a just a second, coming back drunken. Ice and heat fought for control in his veins. His body thrusting and shuddering as if coming to a cliff being unable to jump off. 

Pulling his hand back, allowing Lance’s tail to hold him open, Keith dragged that hand up his body, whimpering as he touched his stomach then over the pink sensitive peaks, then into his own hair, pulling lightly and the black mass, adorned with shimmering feathers. He pulled the tresses from the tie and they fell back behind, giving him a halo of smoldering cinders.

A low growl started in Lance's throat as he watched Keith smear the remainder of the mess on his own stomach and chest. He continued to work Keith's body, readying him. His hand moved, pushing fingers into him slowly, but also with a bit of desperation. The tip of his tail slid back down his length before curling around his thigh and moving slightly against the skin there. Each little movement Keith made only urged him on. 

“You are trying to kill me! I know it!” Keith whimpered, his hand pulling in his hair like he was at his wits end but still wanted more. So he tossed his head back, crying out as he struggled in a purgatory of desire.

"Why would I want to do that?" Lance's voice maintained that low growl even as he pulled his fingers out of him. "I want to keep you." 

“I’m already yours.” Keith calmed a little when Lance removed his fingers. “You have no idea how much of me belongs to you. How long I’ve belonged to you.” Keith didn’t have to explain. Like how religions remembered holidays, so did the gods remember the night they condemned each other. 

"Then you should know the last thing I want to do is kill you." Lance lifted Keith's hips enough to line up. "I love you and need you too much to want that." He slowly inched into him. 

“Ah! Lance!” Keith pulled himself up, wrapping his arms tightly around Lance, kissing every part he could reach. Flame embossed wings stretched to the ceiling as he moved his hips to welcome him. 

Lance held Keith's hips as he began to set the pace: not too quick, but not too slow. His eyes were slit again, those deep-blue depths threatening to swallow Keith to keep him all to himself. "Nnn." His tail coiled more around his leg.

Keith was drowning. The person he’d become over the centuries suffocated. He was snuffed out by the all-encompassing presence of Seiryuu’s tidal pull. Birds of fire burned long and hot until ash remained. They were then reborn as something greater. Seiryuu, Lance, was the resurrecting hand pulling Keith from the ashes. Keith very well could have died in that alleyway. Let the corpse rot in the hell begotten tomb of brick and asphalt. It didn’t matter. He was here. With Lance. How it should be. How it should always have been. Keith moaned his name thrusting against Lance’s body as he dug his talons into his back. He arched for more, craving for him to go deeper, harder. He pleaded for it in a voice that would make an incubus bashful.

Those sounds were too much. Lance was unable to hold himself back as Keith's desperate pleas filled his ears. He thrust harder with each push of his body, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of his partner's hips, and he growled at the sensation of nails in his back. It caused his hips to buck, hard and fast, his own moans mixing with those primal sounds as he kept pushing into Keith. How could they have stayed apart so long? How come Lance couldn't sense him until he was on the edge of death? Perhaps that was their true punishment after being banished from heaven. And yet they still fought against the odds, and once Lance felt that iota of hope, he followed it until he reached that alleyway, and they saved each other. 

“Lance, I’m going to—” Keith started to warn his lover. His eyes flashed gold, and his body bowed back. Keith’s hips jerking and pressing up to Lance’s hands, twisting to drive himself further down as he came. Every part of him squeezed around the dragon, twitching, pulling, and trying to take every last part of him.

There was no way he would hold out after that, and as he felt Keith's first twitches of climax, he came too, his eyes half closing as he growled out a moan, hips still bucking as he emptied himself. And when it was done, and he came back down from that bliss, he slowly pulled out of Keith, his chest heaving as he caught his breath, his tail lazily uncoiling from Keith’s thigh.

“L-ance.” Keith’s body was heavy. His limbs falling boneless to the table. 

Lance was pretty tempted to just lay on Keith, but instead he held himself over him and smiled. "Are you okay?" The tail was gone. His eyes were back to normal. He was just concerned about Keith.

Keith’s eyes fluttered, indigo irises peering out from thick lashes. “Hmm. The room.” Soft embers glittered and sparkled around them. They turned the grey winter into a crimson rain as each mote rested harmlessly on the hotel furniture. He watched one little flame as it wafted across the room to land on Lance’s shoulder. 

Instead of snuffing out like all the others it burned brighter, melting into his flesh. The area glowing red for an instant dripping over the spot like water pouring from a glass. It stretched itself out further than capacity and faded. The area returning to caramel skin.

Lance watched him the entire time, though his eyes flickered in the ember-induced light. A jolt of pleasure seared through him as the ember on his shoulder flared and faded into him. He reached out to touch Keith's cheek, stroking it softly with his fingertips, as though he could cool the flushed skin and help him calm himself. "Can you sit up, or do you need help?"

“Mm.” Lance’s touch turned Keith’s head to lean into it, eyes closing again. “I can sit up.” He said, but Keith didn’t move.

"Then you should get up. I want to go to the bed." Lance slid his fingers down to his jaw. "Please?"

“Nnm.” Keith mewled, the embers flickering in response to Lance before all snuffing out in a fizzle of smoke and the scent of incense. He sat up, his robe falling the rest of the way off his body, slipping the black and white tiled floor. “I’m standing. That’s about half there.”

Lance smiled and took his hand. "Do you want to walk with me, or do you want me to carry you?" He leaned in, kissing him gently. 

“I can make it.” Keith pulled himself into Lance’s arm, hugging it to his chest and nuzzling his shoulder before he kissed it. He knew it made walking a bit awkward, but he kept himself against him like that until he could make it to the bed, his body sinking heavily into the mattress, his earring providing the softest of chimes as he did so.

Lance smiled and kept him steady as they walked to the bed reveling in the way he pressed his body against his arm, settling beside Keith and reaching out to push some of his hair out of his face. "Better?"’

Keith nuzzled his face into a fluffy pillow as the king size comforter sucked his body in. King size anything was amazing. Though Keith wondered what these modern-day people would have thought of Seiryuu’s bed. It was the size of a downtown apartment! Keith chuckled softly. “I was just thinking about your bed. At your palace shrine.” He smiled. “Remember it?”

"Of course. I remember how much you liked rolling around in it." Lance smiled softly and kept playing with Keith's hair, marveling at the way the strands slipped through his fingers. While they couldn’t roll around together in what was essentially a waterbed the size of a small pond, the comfortable hotel bed might be a close second. "I remember every moment of my time with you."

Keith blushed, shifting his eyes away from him. “If we ever get back, I’m going to sleep there for a week.”

"I wouldn't mind." Lance smiled. "But in the event that we don't, we should think about where to live now."

“But I can’t think right now.”

"All right. Then don't think."

“What should I do? Aside from waiting for the storm to pass.” 

"I don't know. I can't really tell you what to do." Lance would have shrugged if he wasn't laying on his side.

“Eh?” Keith blinked, before he reached his finger over to poke Lance’s cheek. “It’s pretty sad that I’m the one saying this but, lighten up.” Keith curled in to him letting him have his warmth. “I didn’t mean anything like that. I meant in general. Right now. What should I do aside from thinking? Just lay here and let you pamper me?”

"I just meant..." Lance shook his head and sighed a little. "Never mind." He wrapped his arms around Keith and closed his eyes. 

“Tomorrow or the day after, I’ll go into work, settle up a few affairs and then we can figure this whole thing out.” Romanticism out of the way, Keith did have a life before Lance showed up. He had work and he was elbow deep in a few other matters that would take an explanation or two. He thought about cutting and running. It would be easy for them, but that wasn’t something Keith would do. 

Lance went quiet for a moment, but then he sighed. "I wouldn't ask you to quit your job if you don't want to, if that's what you think." He spoke softly. He wasn't sure he wanted to know just how well Keith had been living without him around. But he was glad Keith was okay.

“That’s not exactly the issue.” Keith nuzzled Lance’s chest. “I kept myself busy while I drifted around.” This information would not be anything new to Lance. Keith was bad at standing still, he had to be around action. Even now, with the weak human bodies and sealed powers, Keith wanted to do something. Nobility and pride were traits the forced him to continue to strive for more. He wanted to protect humans, and help others like himself and Lance. Though when dealing with gods, life became a messy power struggle.

"But you still have a job, so yeah it's an issue." Lance kept his eyes closed, though he shook his head. "I'm not here to disrupt your life."

“You are my life.” Keith’s words were absolute and without a second of hesitation.

Lance opened one eye to look at him, and he pulled him a little closer. "Thank you. But still I won't ask you to change things for me."

“Tomorrow, or possibly the next day. Come with me into work.” Keith sat up to lay over Lance, his arms folding over his chest while his fingers played with the small golden feather that hung from his neck. His fingers going over the soft quill, tracing the ruby rivers that swirled through it.

"All right..." Lance watched him and blinked a little at the way he played with the feather. It was a bit comforting. "It's not going to be a problem?" 

“Why would it?” Keith looked up at him before he stretched and slipped his fingers down and behind Lance’s head, his chin resting on Lance’s shoulder.

"I don't know. I don't know what your job is." Lance closed his eyes and sighed a little. "There's a lot I don't know."

“Ask me anything.” 

"I wouldn't know what to ask, honestly. There's a lot to ask, and it feels a little overwhelming." Lance sighed again and kept an arm around Keith. He was afraid, but he didn’t want Keith to know that.

“Well then, start with the obvious. I’m a nurse. Mostly on call at the local hospital, HCMC. It gives me the freedom to do other things like investigate certain things.” Keith kept rolling the necklace between his fingers like it comforted him. 

“I don’t exactly know what that means. What do you mean investigate other things?” Lance shook his head a little and rested one hand in Keith's hair. "You're not getting into anything dangerous are you?" 

“Define Dangerous?”

Lance looked at him, then he frowned a little. "Dangerous is dangerous. If you're doing things that can get you hurt..." He shivered a little. The idea of Keith getting himself into trouble made his blood run cold. 

Keith kissed Lance’s chest. “I run a few risks in my side stuff. I’ve gotten in a couple fights. I can use a gun, not well, but I can. I’m better with throwing knives and swords. That part of me is still the same.” Keith looked up at Lance. “I can still fight as well as I used to. You loved watching the way I moved.”

"But it's way different now." Lance sighed and shook his head. "If you get shot, you can die..." His brows furrowed a little. "I love watching you because you’re incredibly sexy when you move, but I don't love the idea of you getting hurt by some sort of modern weapon."

“Die? We do?” Keith cocked his head a little. “I mean we can. But it’s unlikely. I’ve been shot, stabbed, hit by cars…” The fire god blinked, looking up at Lance. “Not all at once… or anything…”

Lance winced at each of those words and he turned his head to the side. "I...don't want that..." Tears came to his eyes as his brain visualized each of those things. He never wanted to see blood stain Keith’s perfectly unmarred flesh. He didn’t want to imagine his bones breaking, or anything else. But he had watched too many movies to be naïve about how those sorts of things occurred. 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to do any of that. It happened because I was careless. I was listless. Not sure what to do, or where to go. I didn’t take care of myself, and right now I’m mad at myself for being that way.”

"Well you don't need to be mad at yourself, just try to take better care of yourself now..." Lance kept his head turned to the side. He didn't want to look at Keith and have the other man see just how sad he looked or how worried he was. 

Keith didn’t have to see his face. He knew. He pulled himself up on Lance’s chest and nuzzled into his neck. “I love you.”

Lance managed a tiny nod, careful of Keith's head. "I love you, too. Which is why I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt..."

“I’m not fond of it either. It hurts.” Keith nuzzled in and moved his hand to hold Lances. “l have you now. My head is the clearest it’s been in a long time.”

"Well, I won't complain about that, at least." Lance held his hand and smiled slightly. 

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to be back home.” Keith curled in, arms tightening around him squeezing as though he were afraid to know what would happen if he let go.

"To be fair, I had to come find you this time." Lance kissed the top of Keith's head. "And if you squeeze me too hard, I'll pop."

“Sorry.” Keith let up, his head bowing to hide his face, “for both.”

"If you're sorry I came to you, then that makes it sound like you didn't want me to." Lance gently poked his cheek. "But you do want me here, don't you?"

“I’m sorry it came to that. That you had to come here. I should have been home by now, I should have never left. You didn’t adorn me last time either.” Now it was Keith’s turn to turn his head to the side. “I should have never left.”

Lance blinked, but then he gently touched the cuff on Keith's ear. "The last two times I was really doubting myself, and you, so I didn't give you a piece of me. That hurt you, and I'm very sorry for it. I shouldn't have taken it out on you in that way." He kissed the top of his head and held him as close as he could without crushing him in his arms. He never regretted his own petty bitterness before, but seeing how he hurt Keith was too much. "You couldn't feel me until I came here and was standing in front of you, could you?"

Keith’s coal black head turned from side to side. He knew he could be childish at times. “I couldn’t feel anything.”

"Then it's fine that I came to you this time." Lance gently began to rub Keith's back. "If I didn't, we'd still be apart, and neither of us want that."

Something hot and wet started to soak into Lance’s sleeve the moment Keith hid his face into the dragon’s arm.

Lance winced a little and kept rubbing his back. The last thing he had wanted to do was make Keith cry, but there it was. "I'm sorry..." Those tears were hot, but they did not warm him the way the rest of Keith usually did. He kept his hands moving on his back, his head moving to press his lips into his hair. 

“I don’t want to think about it. You not being here.”

"Then don't think about it. I'm not going to leave you." 

“I don’t think you’d leave me, I’m scared.” Keith admitted. “What would have happened if you hadn’t found me in the alley. It all hurt so much.” 

Lance sighed and continued to rub Keith's back. "But I did find you. And it worked out, right? So you don't have to think about it or be scared by it because it didn't happen."

Keith sighed, turning in Lance’s arms and looking up at him. Did Lance understand how much it took for Keith to admit fear? Or was he being kind because he did not want to push things any more than they had already been pushed. They were both fragile right now. Lance wore his fragility on his sleeve. With a look, Keith understood his pain and what these centuries were like for him. He was probably still livid with Keith, but it was better to be pissed off and together than pissed off and alone. 

"What?" Lance blinked at the look Keith gave him. It was like a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. Did he say something wrong? Was he supposed to agree that it would have been bad? Should he have just not said anything? "I don't know what else you'd want me to say to that..."

Keith shook his head and pulled himself in close. “So, can you forgive me?”

"Do you think I'd still be here if I couldn't?" Lance's hand stopped on Keith's back and he looked at him, brows furrowing. "I'm not out to make you miserable, you know. I just want to be with you."

“Miserable?” Keith blinked a few times. “No. I’m not. I’m happy. I’m so happy I get to share everything with you from here on. You are my life. And I can share that life with you.”

"Then don't try to think about the things that would make you unhappy." Lance relaxed a little once Keith finished speaking. Something about hearing that confirmation just made everything better.

Keith settled down on Lance, his head against his chest as he released a long sigh ready to take a nap as he was. 

"Rest." Lance whispered, one hand still on Keith's back, the other moving to rest on the back of his head, threading his fingers into his hair. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to remain calm, so his even breathing and heartbeat could lull the other man to sleep. They could face the world later. For now, they needed to just be with each other, even in sleep.


	3. What Have you Been Up to?

“Minneapolis is connected through tunnels and sky ways.” Keith waved his hand over a giant map. It was a simple visual, black lit with black and white designated zones and blue-gray business zones and parking areas. A person could live their whole life in the city and never have to set foot outside. The only problem; everything started to look the same. Another gray corridor, another double door, and another window skyway over Hennepin Avenue. Markers started to become the homeless or the musicians who warmed themselves in the heated sky ways and stairwells. Heaven forbid if one of them moved. Keith personally preferred to go outside and explore the city blocks. He took Lance’s aversion to the cold and the good thirteen inches of snow still on the ground into consideration and the skyway was the better option.

“The hospital is still a ways. Then a two block walk.” Keith pointed a thumb to the left. “If you’re hungry we can go straight. There’s a good bistro in the mall. It never closes. If we go right that’ll takes us to the government center.” Slender shoulders shrugged his ambivalence. They spent two days in the hotel room doing little else but having sex and eating. It was a wonderful way to spend their time, and Keith wanted to continue, but he needed to get out. Keith didn’t have to go into work today, but he wanted to make sure everything was moving smoothly. With the weather the way it was, he was concerned about staffing.

“I don’t care what we do. As long as I can stretch my legs out.” Keith smiled. “By walking.” He added with a wink when he turned to Lance. If making it to the hospital couldn’t happen, he was fine with staying in the skyway labyrinth today, he knew if they needed him the staff would call his cell. Though he needed a change of clothes. All he had on were borrowed articles of Lance’s layers. 

Lance tried so hard to be interested in this quick city-life lesson. It wasn’t that Keith was boring, but he never lived in a modern city before, and this was honestly culture shock. The drive in was different. He was on a mission. He needed to find Keith, so he just followed his GPS. Driving on the highway was also never a problem. But this? This was way different than the towns down in Arizona, and he was overwhelmed.

So he smiled, and he listened, but he did not offer any comments. He just shrugged a little with Keith’s mentions of the food places or the government buildings. “You wanted to go to work, so why would we change that now?” He asked quietly, looking at him, brows furrowing. Did Keith just not want to be alone with him now that they had worked out their issues? Now that Lance warmed up and Keith cooled down, was he just bored with being with him? It had been a long time. Lance wouldn’t really be surprised if Keith was already done with his exclusive company. But he wasn’t going to complain. He just tried to be as neutral as he possibly could. The last thing he wanted to do was annoy Keith.

“To work? Hm?” Keith nodded his head. “It’s nothing that great, honestly. You came all the way to me. I wanted to show you around, and off.” Keith smiled with a subtle pinking of his cheeks. Keith was looking forward to giving his mythical ‘boyfriend’ a face. The women at work would be able to rest in peace. 

“The hospital’s called the Hennepin County Medical Center.” Keith rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, the locals just call it HCMC.” There was a long stretched out moment as Keith tried to recover the conversation. 

“I’m not on today, and no one’s called, but I want to check things out.” A proud blush encroached on Keith’s otherwise ivory cheeks he pushed through heavy metal doors and into the glass skyway. He literally fell into the job, but he had never found anything that suited him better. 

As the doors opened the mellow saxophone tune “Baker Street” filled the small rectangular space. Keith’s lips pursed to the side. It wasn’t the music he’d recommend for the midmorning walk to work, but he still stopped and listened to the long haired youth play the well-known song. She was small thing, five-two? Maybe? She looked clean, nothing like most of the homeless that slept in the skyways. She was most likely from one of the surrounding universities hoping to make an extra buck or two. Keith shrugged, placed five dollars in a worn music case and continued on his way, taking Lance’s hand as they walked. 

Lance blinked, but he held Keith’s hand as they walked. Of course he wanted to see what Keith did with his life without him around. For the most part anyway. He was actually quite scared that Keith was getting along well without him, at least aside from the body temperature thing. What if there was someone better? He glanced down at himself as they walked, and he frowned. His jeans were loose, held on by his belt. His shirts were baggy, and he didn’t even dare try to tuck either of them in or it might emphasize just how badly sized his pants were. His jacket looked like a hand-me-down from a father or uncle that was at least a head taller and probably three sizes bigger. He felt ridiculous, but big clothes were all he had. The only thing that fit properly was the beanie he pulled down on his head.

He looked up at Keith and shook his head a little. “I wouldn’t have heard of it, or of anything really. I was kind of removed from…this kind of thing.” He shook his head again, trying to clear his thoughts before he looked at the other man again. “If you like it. It’s okay, isn’t it?” Any conversation was better than thinking about how inadequate and pathetic he was. 

Keith arched an eyebrow up at Seiryuu, the shoulder of his shirt slipping to one side. Keith had always been one of those annoying people that made sloppy look good. His clothing always wrinkled in just the right way, his bedhead always putting a lock or two in just the right location. Even Lance’s clothes on him seemed to be some sort of on purpose fashion statement. His pants were skin tight, and the shirt caught and billowed in all the perfect places as his hair hung loose over his shoulders with his under-lights framing just around his face in their mix of black, gold and red. “Something wrong?”

“Why?” Lance blinked. So Keith thought he looked bad too, then? He managed to keep from wincing, but he just looked at the other man, unsure what else to say.

“You’re scrunched.” Keith lifted his hand to press into Lance’s forehead. “D-do I make you uncomfortable?” He stopped and looked up at the taller man, his fingers pulling at the sleeves that came past them. “I don’t have to hold your hand if you don’t want to.”

“What? No. Of course you don’t make me uncomfortable. If you don’t want to hold my hand, then don’t hold my hand.” Lance pouted. “But don’t say it’s because of me. I don’t want you to ever let go of my hand…”

“I’m the one you grabbed your hand first. Idiot.” Keith took Lance’s hand again. “Relax. No one is going to take you away, and I made you a promise, right?” The smaller man looked to be getting his bearings again before he pulled Lance down another hallway. 

Lance followed him, not that he had a choice with Keith pulling him. “I wasn’t worried about anyone taking me away…”

“Then what is it?” Keith stopped. “Look, I’m not any better at any of this stuff than I was before. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know what’s going on in your head.” For a moment, an insecure gesture moved through Suzaku’s body manifesting with the smallest nibble on his lower lip.

“…My clothes are too big.” Lance looked off to the side. “I’m embarrassed.” He could never resist the other man’s pout.

“Eh?” Keith blinked. “OH. Ooh…” He shook his head. “Come on.” He started to lead Lance in another direction. “There’s some stores over at Nicollet. I mean some is fuck all expensive but there’s a Target and a Ragstock.” Keith smiled. “Those are in my price range.” 

“No…No it’s okay we can go after. You wanted to go to work right?” Lance half stumbled after him. 

“I’m not expected. I can show up when I want.” Keith smiled over his shoulder. “I want you to be comfortable.”

“Okay.” Lance really wasn’t going to argue with him. He just let Keith drag him along.

Keith pulled Lance off their course and through a few more sets of glass walk ways and metal doors in to the whitewashed, brightly lit and highlighted in red two story Target store. “Have a look around. If you like anything, let me know.”

Lance winced a little as though the lights in the store were too bright. “Okay…” He couldn’t help the feeling of stupidity that came over him. Being embarrassed over his clothing was a little lame, wasn’t it? He looked around the store and pouted a bit. Why was it so big? How was he supposed to find anything here? He glanced at Keith, but then his eye caught the men’s clothing side, so he shuffled off in that direction. He kept his head down as he looked, hoping no one else was actually looking at him as he checked a few pairs of jeans. He hadn’t worn properly fitted clothing in at least a hundred and fifty years, so he wasn’t totally sure of his actual size, so he just grabbed a few pairs of pants, a few shirts, and he looked at Keith helplessly.

Keith returned the look with an arched eyebrow before he smiled. “Took me a while to get sizing too.” He leaned over Lance’s shoulder, balancing on his toes to get a better look. “We’ll check it out in the dressing room. Do you like those?” He asked as he stepped away, his chin in his hand. 

“Hmm.” With a bit of scrutiny Keith eyed Lance then flipped through the clothing. “Take these.” Keith handed half the clothing back to Lance. “I’ll take these and get you something smaller. The dressing room is over there.” He pointed over his shoulder. 

“Okay…” Lance nodded and bowed his head a little before he went to the changing room. He looked down at the pile of clothes in his arms, sighing slightly before he stepped into one of the little stalls and shut the door. 

Maybe he would feel better once he had better clothes. Maybe some of the insecurity he felt would fade if he looked better? He tugged off his clothing, down to his underwear and looked at himself in the mirror before he started to tug on a pair of jeans. It was the right length, but it was still too big, so he pouted, his shoulders slumping. 

“Marco!” Keith’s soft voice called as he entered the maze of dressing rooms. Every Venetian blind looking white door looked like the one next to it. So, he called out the childish game once again. “Marco?”

Lance blinked when Keith’s voice echoed, so he slowly opened the door, shirtless, pants hanging on his hips, and he just stared at him. “What…?”

Keith grinned showing his teeth and an something of a laugh came from his mouth. “It worked either way. Here.” He handed Lance a bundle of clothing and looked him over. “Any smaller and the length is wrong.” Keith popped something into his mouth and pushed up his sleeves as though her were about to take on a task. Whipping a belt off the shoulder of a headless mannequin he got down on the floor in front of Lance. His nimble fingers worked the leather belt through each of the loops and he pulled to tighten it. “That works. How are the shirts.” Keith pulled at the belt to align it, the white end of a sucker hanging out of his mouth the scent of sour apple and caramel wafting up.

Lance stared down at Keith, his eyes wide, and his mouth open. What was he doing? Did he have any idea how overwhelmed Lance already was, and how this was making it a little worse? He still didn’t like the way the pants felt, but Keith seemed satisfied with them, so he didn’t know how to say anything. His brows furrowed. “I…” He shook his head at the question. He hadn’t even gotten that far. 

Keith sat back on his heels, the white stick switching from side to side. “I personally don’t care how it looks but are these at least comfortable?” His tilted his head up. “You don’t look like it do you? Take these off and I’ll find something else. Try on the shirts in the mean-time. I have mediums and smalls in there. Though I don’t think you’d be a small. You’re about the same as me but more stretched out.” 

“Everyone okay in here?” An older man wearing the red and khaki Target uniform walked up to Keith then eyed Lance. He earned little more than a glance from Keith. 

“We’re fine. Thanks.”

Lance nodded a little. “Thank you. We’re okay.” He managed a smile at the clerk, even though he was standing there awkwardly, his hands gripping the pants since he was about to push them down. He waited for the clerk to leave before he shook his head at Keith. “Sorry.” He watched him for a moment before he pushed the pants off and stepped out of them, grabbing a medium shirt and tugging it on over his head. 

“Okay. Give me a second.” Keith sprang to his feet, leaving the room for a few minutes before coming back with a few pairs of jeans and another shirt. “Try this.” 

Lance looked at him and nodded, taking the items. “Thank you.” He was quiet as he pulled one of the pairs of jeans on, but he let out a sigh of relief. They fit. They were snug, but not tight, and they felt good. He looked at Keith and smiled a little. “Do they look okay?” 

Keith opened the door and cocked his head, stepping into the dressing room. The lock clicking as the counter weight shut the door behind him. “I like it.” He moved his hand over hem, fingers slipping in to pull gently between the fabric and his stomach. “It’s a good look for you.” Keith nodded to the shirts. “Any of those fit?” His fingers didn’t move away, instead they smoothed over Lance’s muscled stomach. It had been less than 10 hours since Lance held Keith but seeing him, half-dressed and wearing a pair of slim fit skinny jeans made his body tingle. Lance had a shape that was made for modern clothes, and he wore the it well.

“How do they feel?” Keith asked around the sucker as he slipped his other hand over one of the smaller feathers around Lance’s neck, his borrowed shirt falling to the side.

“I like them. They’re comfortable.” Lance murmured, trying to concentrate on Keith’s words and not the fingers that ran over his skin, but the touches made his cheeks redden just a bit. “The shirts are okay too. I put the ones that don’t feel good in that pile.” He nodded to the bigger of two piles. “I’m sorry…this is such a hassle, isn’t it?” 

“I’m having fun.” Keith pulled the sucker out and licked the flavor on his lips. “Do you feel hassled?”

“I feel like I’m a burden.” Lance shook his head and looked at him, pouting just a little. 

“One day and you already feel like that?” Keith blinked, matching then multiplying Lance’s pout. “Have I made you feel like that?”

“No. You haven’t done anything that makes me feel that way. I just do.” Lance sighed and rested his forehead against Keith’s. “I don’t think I’m allowed to be happy. Every time I was, they took you from me.”

“Lance,” Keith closed his eyes but after a second he smiled. “Well, fuck them.” He turned his head up his lips pressing to Lance’s. “Fuck them for screwing with you. Fuck them for screwing with me. So, I say that’s what we do.” Keith nuzzled as he continued to whisper. “Find a way to fuck them. One thing I’ve learned after all this time. Gods are not absolute. Neither is their power. So, we should just give them back a little of what they’ve been giving us.”

Keith kissed him gently. “I made a promise to you. I intend to keep it.”

Lance kissed him back after nodding once. “I’m sorry. I’m broken.” He whispered against Keith’s lips, though his tongue came out to taste the caramel that still lingered there. His cheeks flushed a little. “I will get better as long as I’m with you. Maybe one day I’ll be confident like I was that first time.”

“You just tried to give me tongue in a Target changing room.” Keith wrapped his arms around his neck, his earring chimed with the shift. “You’re getting there.”

Lance’s cheeks reddened. “You taste like sugar! I couldn’t help it!”

Keith smirked. “Do I?”

“Yeah…You know you do. You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Lance pouted again. 

“Do I ever plan ahead?” Keith poked Lance’s forehead. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten your fill.”

“I’ll never get my fill.” Lance pouted more. “I could never. I will always want you. Every minute of every day.”

Keith stared. His eyes large and wide. Whenever he was shocked, that expression took ten years off his age. It made him appear boyish. Innocent. A child that needed to be protected from the world, but Lance knew better. No matter how wide or how innocent those eyes became, the world had never been kind to the outcast god. Every time he came back there was a new edge to him. Something sharper and more honed for violence. Keith knew fighting, he knew killing, and he knew the lowest slums of mankind. However, here he was, startled by a bit of flattery.

“Lance, that’s a bit…” Keith scratched a finger at his burning cheek.

“Too much? Romance doesn’t work for you anymore?” Lance lifted a hand to Keith’s red cheek and stroked it gently. “Isn’t this the me you like the best? The one that is so sure of everything, when I can make you blush with a mere look?” He leaned in and kissed him. 

Keith shuddered. His mouth parting, a willing victim to Lance’s gentle request. He was weak to this part of him. The romantic. The dashing charming idiot. Lance was the type who’d throw out the lamest lines and hope something would stick. It was what attracted Keith all those centuries ago, and he fell for them every damn time. “Lance.”

Lance moaned against Keith’s lips as he took his mouth, one hand still on his cheek, the other moving to press against the small of Keith’s back and pull him closer. Even if he didn’t feel confident, he could at least act like it, and maybe the more he did, the more he’d feel it. 

“Nng,” Keith moaned softly, sucking at his tongue and pressing up as Lance guided him. “We-e’re still in a Target dressing room.” He whispered, but his body did everything but protest.

“Yeah…” Lance pulled back and slid his fingers from Keith’s cheek, dropping his hand from his back as well. “Let me put my clothes back on and I can get this stuff and we can leave…” He didn’t want to pull away, but doing it in public wasn’t on his list of things to do.

“Give me a minute though.” Keith leaned against the wall. He tilted his head back to see the blaring sterile light, rather than watch his lover change. It never failed. Keith heated up at the smallest of provocations from his lover, feeding on it. Physical effort was required to calm his body down after a few desperate kisses.

Lance nodded and said nothing as he changed back into his baggy clothing and gathered up what he was going to buy. He could change later. For now, he just wanted to do whatever Keith wanted to do.

“I can buy that. You don’t have to.” Keith pushed himself off the wall and gathered up the ‘no pile’. He fussed about and hung them neatly on the rack. He hated the people that left messes in changing rooms, so he always made a point to pick up after himself in every room. It was the distraction he needed right now. 

Lance shook his head a little and his brows furrowed. “Sorry…I wasn’t thinking. I should have cleaned up.” He sighed and hugged the chosen clothing closer to his chest. “Why wouldn’t I buy it. It’s mine isn’t it?” 

“Don’t worry. You have a lot on your mind.” Keith nodded his head. “Because I want to do something for you. I have a lot of to make up for. Birthdays, and the humans they do this thing called Christmas.” Keith stopped himself. He was sure Lance knew what Christmas was. “It’s over now,” He hugged a sweatshirt closer to himself instead of placing it on the rack. 

“But…” Lance looked at him and sighed. “Keith, I don’t want you to feel like you have to make up for things like that. I am happy to be back with you. I don’t need you to by me presents for all the missed holidays…I don’t even know when my birthday would be either.” 

“July 28th.” 

“Eh?” 

“According to the current calendar. Your birthday is July 28th.” Keith turned his head away and stepped out of the fitting area, his back slumped as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I was alive first. I remember seeing you spark into life. As a thought, then an idea, a religion, then a symbol for all emperors. The great Azure Dragon was born on a rainy night, by a wooden shrine when a child asked; ‘What makes the rain go?’ ” 

“Oh…” Lance blinked a little as he followed him out of the fitting room. “So…it was the middle of summer?” He felt a little guilty about it, but it made him blush faintly to know that Keith had remembered such a tiny detail about him. 

“Yes. During a monsoon. I didn’t have a shape yet, but you came blazing to life as dragon streaking across the sky.” Keith rubbed his nose a little. “I was bitter. I thought you looked like gilded worm. So I became the bird.” 

“Why? So you could eat me?” Lance looked at him and arched a brow.

Keith shrugged. “The thought crossed my mind, but then we both became busy. We’d fight when we saw each other, and then.. well.. the rest you know.”

“Well, I guess technically you have eaten me.” Lance looked at him, but then he smiled a little and walked towards the counter. 

A wolfish grin came to Keith’s face as he ran up to walk beside him. “I guess so.”

Lance smiled a little, seeing that grin, before he placed the clothing down at the register and turned his attention to the clerk. He smiled, murmuring the usual pleasantries when purchasing something, then pulled his credit card out of his wallet and paid. He glanced over at Keith as he did this, offered him another smile, before he turned his attention back to the woman ringing him up. 

When all was said and done, he took the bags and looked at Keith. “I kind of want to change into some of these before we go anywhere else. Is that okay?”

“Back to the hotel?” Keith pointed over his shoulder. “We can head back.”

“I can change in a bathroom. You wanted to show me your job didn’t you?” 

Keith’s cheeks burned but he nodded. “Yeah. Use the department store bathroom. Shouldn’t be an issue.”

Lance smiled a little and quickly ducked into the bathroom to change. He came out when he was done, his old clothes and the extra new clothes shoved in the bag, but he looked and felt a lot better. Those skinny jeans, a gray long-sleeved shirt, a blue plaid flannel, and his jacket. He smiled at Keith. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“I don’t know if I like this plan now.” Keith walked up to Lance and wrapped his arms around. “I like this look.” His hands slid down and into the back pockets of his jeans. “I don’t know if I want to share this.”

Lance blinked and looked at him, then down at himself, then at him again. “Why would you share me?”

“I wouldn’t. You look good though. I don’t know if I want anyone else seeing you.” Keith shook his head. “If I gotta explain a compliment, it starts sounding like an insult.” He moved away from the door so Lance can get by. “Come on. 2nd shift is starting soon.”

“Well I don’t want anyone else seeing you, but I have to be realistic, right?” Lance blinked when Keith stepped away from him, so he reached out and took his hand. “I’m flattered. I like that you think I look good. It makes me feel pretty warm and fuzzy. Thank you.” 

“Realistic? Said the dragon.” Keith smirked and hugged Lance’s arm to his chest. He loved the current age. Things were not perfect, but he could be close to his lover in public with only the fear of a few looks and maybe a terse word. He’d gladly take that over the horrors found throughout history.

“My job is to make you warm and fuzzy.”

“Oh? I thought your job was to be a nurse?” Lance smiled a little and looked at him out of the corner of his eye, feeling better with Keith being so close. “I don’t think I can afford to pay you for making me warm and fuzzy.”

“I’ll give you a discount.” Keith flirted as he slipped his fingers between Lance’s. 

“I hope it’s 100% because I need your love all the time, and I won’t be able to have it if you charge me.” Lance smiled and held his hand.

“I love you, all the time.” Keith nuzzled his shoulder, kissing it through his coat. “Is your jacket warm enough to go outside?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty thick.” Lance nodded a little and looked at him. “You won’t be cold, will you?”

“I’ll be okay. You’re the only thing that chills me.” Keith hopped out the doors leading to the street level. “It’s not bad.” Keith held his hand out and looked around the deserted snowy streets. “That way.”

Lance nodded and looked at him. “Well. I feel the same you know. You’re the only one that can truly warm me. Though with you around, it’s not as cold.” He smiled and walked with him.

Keith took Lance’s hand and pushed it into the pocket of his own jacket. “Yeah. I know.” He kept Lance against him until they got to the doors of the hospital. HCMC wasn’t a tall medical center by any means. It stood three to five stories in either section with obvious additions and reconstructions made in nondescript hues of brown. The building sprawled into several wings and points with skyways and underground tunnels connecting every specialty and facility turning it into a modern miracle of all healthcare needs. 

They entered through the Trauma Center. The lobby was quiet, except for an old man with a wet gurgling cough curled tighter around a cup of waiting room coffee. 

“Ross?” Keith arched his head around the divide. A woman under the admittance window perked and turned. Thick curly hair was pulled up into a tight bun with ringlets framing her supple face. She smiled brightly at Keith while standing up. He held back a chuckle at her Sponge Bob scrubs.

“Kogane? You’re not scheduled today.”

“I was staying at the hotel, figured It wouldn’t hurt to stop by.” A dark eyebrow raised.

“You were staying at a hotel?” Her green eyes sparkled, bringing life to her otherwise tired features. She looked over the tall boy at Keith’s side. “Who’s this?” 

Lance stood there quietly, his hand still clutching at Keith’s inside his pocket, though his fingers seemed to be trembling a little. It wasn’t like he was nervous or anything. He was good with people after all. He just wasn’t sure what to expect when Keith kept holding his hand like that, even when he started talking to the woman at the counter. He clutched the Target bag in his other hand and smiled nervously. Who was he? What was okay for Keith to say about their relationship? It couldn’t have been too bad if Keith never let go of his hand, especially with it shoved into Keith’s pocket the way it was. But did you just come out and say your relationship to people? What was their relationship? How were they supposed to define it? So he blinked, then blushed faintly, then smiled. “I’m Lance. I…Um…”

“Lance?” Ross gave Lance and arched look. “So, are you the imaginary boyfriend?”

Keith coughed choking on air. “You guys made all that stuff up, but yes. He is.”

Ross smiled, her expression warm. “You never told us he was a sexy Cuban lover. I figured you all stayed with your own.”

Keith leveled a glare. “That’s a bit racist, don’t you think?”

“Bah, just a question.”

“You’re lucky I don’t have HR on speed dial.” Keith started pulling Lance along as he walked through the lobby doors. Suddenly the plush businesslike appearance of the check-in room was replaced by long hallways, bright lights and beeping equipment. 

“I’m lucky you’re not technically working right now.” Ross hollered back. “Say hi to room 203. She was asking about you!”

Keith shook his head, blushing a little. “Sorry about her. She’s umm, different?” He shrugged apologizing. “but I like her.” 

Lance blinked during the exchange and was barely able to stumble after Keith as he started pulling him down the hallway. “You told them about me…even though you didn’t seem to remember anything until I came back to you?” He kept his voice quiet, since it was apparent from the exchange that Keith had mentioned the vague idea of a boyfriend with absolutely no specifics. So it obviously wasn’t him, was it? Perhaps he thought of someone else. Someone taller, broader, more handsome. Maybe it was someone who was nothing like Lance.

Or maybe that someone actually existed and Keith… no he didn’t want to think about it. It would do him no good to get jealous and upset now. “You…seem to get along well with her.” 

“I had issues at first.” Keith admitted, slowing down, folding his arms into the borrowed sweatshirt. “It was easier to make something up. I just wanted to be left alone, ya know?”

“Keith?” Another voice came from large curved desk sitting at the center of a hallway round about. Computers, paper, phones, and iPads littered the desks as people in different colored uniform scrubs moved back and forth. At the center was a bright eyed, dark-skinned man with slight accent that Keith had yet to place. It sounded like a mix of British and Sudanese, though the Keith never had the mind to ask. 

“Lubna.” Keith nodded his head. “How is the staffing today? Was everyone able to make it?”

“Ah, yeah. No worries no worries. 2nd floor was a bit tight at first but a few from 1st shift stayed on.”

“That’s why Ross is still here?”

“Yep.” Lubna stood up to take Keith’s hand in a warm two handed shake. When he noticed Lance standing over his coworker’s shoulder he smiled with bright white teeth at the tall boy. “Odd to see you with a friend.”

Keith leaned over the counter, grabbing a chart from a pile. No one batted an eye at the level of grace or the eerie way he pulled one chart from the middle of a pile without causing a hair-width of a wobble. “Hn?” He replied, flipping through the information, half listening half reading. “Lubna Lance. Lance Lubna.” He furrowed his brows and lifted his eyes apologetically to Lance. 

“I’m going to check on 203. Lance, can you stay here for a bit? Lubna, can he get a coffee or something from the break room?”

“Of course. I’ll take good care of your friend.” The thin man smiled and turned those kind eyes back on Lance. “Come with me. I’ll tell you stories.”

“Lubna! Just coffee. Don’t fill his head with nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense if it’s true!” Lubna pulled gently on Lance’s arms, the tribal dotted scaring on his face seemed to only accent his already handsome features rather detract from them as they circled his eyes and lined down one cheek in seven perfectly aligned rows.

It took every ounce of willpower for Lance not to start growling. Instead he did his best to keep his expression neutral as Keith spoke. He didn’t like this at all. He knew that it was unreasonable for him to feel this way. Of course Keith would be able to have normal interactions with the people he worked with. But it still made him feel off. It felt wrong. His Suzaku was horrible with people. His Suzaku would have been miserable around others without him around. But they had been separated for too long, and in Keith forgetting about him, he developed a new self that Lance didn’t know. It scared him. It worried him. It hurt him.

But he could never let Keith know. He couldn’t tell him that he just wasn’t ready to see this, or to be separated from him. His brain knew it was only for a few minutes, but his heart seemed to stop in his chest, and his stomach churned at the very idea. But he couldn’t show any weakness, so he just bit the inside of his lip to keep himself from reacting or saying something stupid. He kept himself quiet even as the strange man he wasn’t sure he liked—for petty reasons, of course. It had nothing to do with the man himself—pulled on his arms. He didn’t want to know stories. He didn’t want to hear about how insignificant he actually was. He already knew. Keith didn’t remember him, and curse or not, that was painful. Keith made up a boyfriend for convenience, not because he had someone he was waiting for. Each little thing was like a tiny dagger stabbing itself somewhere into Lance’s chest. 

But he said nothing about it, and he just looked at the man. 

“It is strange to see Keith with someone. How do you know him?” Lubna smiled as he ran his badge over a scanner on the vending machine. “He’s not a social person. He talks to Ross and I, but we have been here since the day he fell in on us. Literally! He showed up covered in all sorts of blood! I could not believe it! Not a wound on him though. He seemed confused. Police were called and he just sat here. Speaking quietly answering questions. He had nowhere to go. But a patient flat lined in the waiting room, and I had never seen a body move as fast as I saw. You probably know all this.” Lubna waved his hand dismissing himself. “But he’s been with us ever since. But very cold to new comers or other staff.” He shook his head. “If it’s not about work, barely a word is spoken. Doctors like’im though. Tells them what they want and that is it.” 

“No, I didn’t know any of that. He doesn’t really talk about those kinds of things. Or he probably just didn’t want to worry me.” He wasn’t pleased to hear that Keith had been in some sort of serious altercation before he came here, but he also wasn’t surprised. Suzaku always looked worse for wear when he showed up after a long absence. And the idea that he was still kind of antisocial should have made Lance relax, but it didn’t. He did, however, smile a little, as though nothing was bothering him. “I’ve known him forever.” His voice was quiet, and he watched Lubna intently. “I’m visiting from Arizona…”

“Arizona? Haha! Hot all year down there! That’s where I should have gone. None of this snow and freezing my ass off down there! You’re a smart boy. Unlike Keith, who is dumb like the rest of his in this frozen state.”

“Forever you say? I suppose. That is good too. Keith is very good at the job he does here. He doesn’t make friends, but the patients love him. He is like our Oscar in a strange way. Do you know what I mean when I say that?” While he spoke, Lubna motioned for Lance to pick something out of the vending machine. 

“No. I don’t understand.” Lance shook his head and just picked a water, brows furrowing slightly. “You didn’t have to do that for me…but thank you.” He took the bottle and looked at Lubna, not sure what else he should say. 

“He is a cat that works at hospice or hospital in New England. He knows when the time has come for a patient, if you can believe that! He has a nasty personality most of the time, but will sit and purr with a patient until they die. Hardly ever wrong. He even has a plaque! I’ve worked here 20 years, I don’t even have a business card, and a cat gets a plaque.” Lubna shook his head and sighed before it bowed, his tone more somber. 

“Working in the middle of the city like this, we get all kinds of patients. Some who have no family, or no one to call. Keith is our Oscar. The patients see something in him in those last moments. Someone they want to see, someone they want to apologize too, and Keith sits at their bedside as though he were and never corrects them. Come. I’ll show you.” 

“I don’t want to interrupt him.” Lance shook his head and kept up that fake smile. “I feel better knowing he’s fine, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to bring me to see something like that.” He held the water bottle, the cold liquid inside seeming to get a little colder, but he calmed himself enough to keep it from freezing in his grip. “I mean, I don’t work here, and there are privacy issues aren’t there?”

“No names no faces. Just come with me.” Lubna stood up and motioned for Lance to follow. “You have a special friend. When I look at you. I feel the same type of thing from you, and when I saw him today, he felt different. I do not know how to say it. But like a whole. I guess.” He kept talking as he walked, taking for granted the fact that Lance would follow more out of politeness than anything else.

Lance winced a little once the man turned around and started walking. He was too polite to decline, so he just followed, gripping the bottle of water in one hand and his bag in the other. With every step, that all too familiar chill started to set in his bones. “I don’t think we’re the same…So I don’t know what type of thing you feel.” He murmured as they walked. “He is much better than I am.”

“Maybe. I only met you, but if you’re a friend of a person like that?” Lubna whispered, stopping outside of room 203. The room was dark save for the over bed lamp. A curtain was half drawn around the bed leaving half of it obscured, but Keith was fully visible to Lance. 

“Are you warm enough? I can get you another pair of socks. I have your kitty ones. They’re clean now.” Keith’s voice was controlled and soothing. It was gentle in its tenor as he held a small hand in his.

“I’m fine. You’re always warm.” A young sweet voice replied. 

“I’m like a furnace. You wouldn’t want to be near me in the summer. I’d make you sweaty and gross.” Keith forced a chiming note of laughter in his voice.

“So gross! I hate sweating!”

“Me too. I like being cold more than warm.” 

Lance winced again and turned his head away after watching Keith soothe that patient. He could at least cover it as though the whole thing was too sad. But the fact of the matter was it made him feel awful. It made him hate himself for the feelings that were welling up inside of him. Those negative feelings swelled, and Lance knew he had no right to feel them. He was so unreasonable. He shouldn’t be this pissed off and hurt. He shouldn’t be this resentful. He knew all of this was just his curse messing with him, but he was also so broken that the tiniest little chip cracked his armor and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he stepped away from the room to try to compose himself. 

“Hey, kid – Wait?” The Sudanese man tilted his head for a second before Keith’s voice called him into the room. There was a brief exchange and the young Asian man appeared in the hall, his eyes staring at the floor then flittering to Lance.

“Hey. We can head back now, if you want. I have just one more place we should go.” Keith reached out a hand touched Lance’s arm. “Lance?”

Lance kept his head turned away, his eyes closed, his breathing even. He needed to calm himself. He needed to be okay. And he was so busy focusing on doing so that he jumped when Keith touched him. “Eh?” He slowly turned his head to look at him, the tears gone, his expression neutral once more. “What is it?”

“You were zoned out. I’ll take you to my place. I need some clothes too.” Keith reached his hand up and rubbed a finger over a dried tear. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Oh.” Lance’s brows furrowed at the touch to his cheek, but he didn’t pull away. “Did you ask me if I was okay?” He sighed. 

“I am now.” His warm fingers traced the line of his cheek, gentle eyes watching for a tell.

Lance shook his head and handed Keith the bottle of water, which was now half frozen. He turned his head and avoided Keith’s gaze.

“Lance?” Keith hardly grazed the bottle with his fingers and the ice metled. “Alright, I’ll take you out of here.” Keith hooked his arm in Lance’s and lead him out, nodding politely to Ross and Lubna as he walked by. “I’ll hail a cab.”

“Don’t…not if you don’t want to. I’ll be fine in a moment.” Lance shook his head, but he followed Keith. “I’m sorry…I…”

“We’ll need one to get to my crap.” Keith motioned out to the road and green cab pulled over. “Two of us please.” He slid in and gave the cabbie a quick address. 

Lance followed him into the cab, but he bowed his head and held onto the bag like it was his only lifeline. 

“Are you going to tell me?” Keith laid his head on Lance’s shoulder, nudging the taller man’s arm to provide a hint to wrap it around him.

“I don’t know how to explain it.” Lance sighed, but he did wrap his arm around him, and while his head was still bowed, he did feel a little better. “I guess I just wasn’t ready to be separated from you, even if for a little bit. I know I have to get used to that, and I know it wasn’t going to be for long, but it scared me a little. I’m sorry.” He shook his head slightly. “I know you’re going to have to work, and so I can’t be with you all the time. I will be okay.”

“I’m sorry I left you.” Keith shifted and curled into Lance a little tighter. “I didn’t think you’d want to see something like that.” Keith rested his eyes for a moment, the event taking an obvious toll on him as well.

The cab came to a stop and Keith settled up. The wind whipping his hair about his face as he stepped out. Warehouses lined the street until getting cut off by an overpass. It was an older part of Minneapolis. One of those areas where the street fell to the lowest level of priority on the city’s list. Potholes became the size of miniature ice rinks and the daily trash strewn from the cars flying by on the above highway littered the ground. There were few signs of life except for a few dried and broken vines clinging the rusted chain link fence around one of the buildings. “Follow me.”

Keith walked a bit ahead of Lance, hands shoved into his pockets while he wove through narrow alleyways until they came to a single door on dead end. The words “Star Storage” arched over the windowless entry. “Here we are.” Producing keys, Keith stepped in. 

The room beyond was lined with six-foot-tall metal push up doors. Each one looking no different than any other. However, there was obvious break in damage to one here and there. Crowbar scratches and body shaped dents in the tin of the doors. The storage center was dingy, with barely a light, and it had the permeating scent of generator exhaust. 

Lance scurried to catch up to Keith as he walked through the alleys. He reached out and touched the other man’s arm as soon as he stepped into the building, his fingers curling a little into the sleeve. He looked around the room and frowned a little. Did Keith live in a storage unit? That was just too sad. It made his eyes water, but he blinked back the tears. He didn’t think Keith would want his pity.

Keith pushed open the door of the 10x10 unit, revealing metal and plastic bins along the walls, a clean and made twin bed next to a desk, a chair, and a single lamp. “Be it ever so humble.”

Lance looked around the small unit and shook his head. “Keith…” He walked up to him and wrapped an arm around him from behind, resting his forehead against his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Keith asked. “No neighbors. No need for people to get involved with me, and I get left alone. Perfect for a guy like me.” He gave a quick kiss into the crook of Lance’s arm.

“You weren’t lonely?” Lance murmured, his forehead still on Keith’s shoulder. “You were really okay?” He lifted his head a little to nuzzle his cheek against that same shoulder. “But you don’t want to be alone now right?”

“I’ve done better this time, I think. I had to. I don’t hate people. I just don’t know how to talk to them. Ross and Lubna are stubborn and don’t care that I’m strange. But this is the best for me. Fewer people the better. Lonely is just part of the package.” He cleared his throat.

“We should get inside.” He pulled away from Lance and crawling over his bed to get to a switch. There was a click then a low buzz as a florescent light fluttered on. 

“Come in, the bed and everything is clean. I promise. Pull the door down behind you.”

Lance followed Keith into the unit and pulled the door down, watching him carefully. He tried not to frown at Keith’s words, and he seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it, but he did notice that Keith either just didn’t get to it or purposely ignored his question. “You didn’t answer me.” His voice was quiet, not at all accusatory. He didn’t necessarily want or need to hear about Keith’s relationship with other people. It struck a nerve, but he was unwilling to confront the idea for fear of upsetting the man in front of him, so instead he tried to focus on their relationship. If Keith wanted to live with him, great. If he didn’t, Lance needed to know now.

Keith sighed and turned to see his partner from where he stood, his shirt over his head but not off his arms as they slumped as if he’d lost the drive to finish removing it. “Isn’t it obvious? You don’t count as a normal person. You’re Seiryuu, Longwei, Lance. You’re mine. I don’t want you to leave me. If you walked away from me now, I don’t think I could handle that.”

“I won’t ever walk away from you.” Lance shook his head and managed a little smile. “I know I’m not a normal person, but if you still wanted to be alone…” He shook his head and moved to sit on the bed, reaching out to touch his hand. “Everything I do is for you, you know. I would give you anything within my power to give you.”

Keith’s hand twitched at the contact, “Am I making you happy? I know I can’t fix everything overnight. I just,” His lips pursed to one side. “I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have.” His hand turned to catch Lance’s as he sat down on the bed beside him, the sweatshirt still awkwardly binding his arms. “You want to give me so much. You always are like that.” Keith bowed his head, his hair waving about as he shook it. “Can I at least make you smile?”

Lance squeezed his hand gently before he let go to gently remove that sweatshirt. “I’m the happiest I’ve been in centuries.” He leaned in and kissed his cheek, then his lips, smiling slightly against them. “I do have a lot on my mind, but I also know that you didn’t try to hurt me. It was the stupid curse. That’s not your fault. And so I am happy because I am here with you.”

Keith nuzzled his nose up against Lance’s, taking his breath and his scent into himself. “If I had the choice, I’d never hurt you. I was gone a long time this time. I know I promised to stay with you, but what if I can’t fight it? What if we can’t fight it?” Keith’s fingers stroked Lance’s cheek. 

“Every time I go away, I’m forced to do things I don’t want. I fight. I hurt people.” How many wars had Keith been in this time? Four hundred years amounted to a lot of death. A lot of blood. He was a killer. A bird of prey. Mythology be damned, it was rarely true any way. Keith was a weapon, he just didn’t know who was wielding him. “It’s so peaceful when I’m with you.”

Lance’s eyes half closed at Keith’s touches, but he reached up and took that hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing his fingertips. “It feels different this time though, doesn’t it? It was a really long time, yeah, but…” He kissed down his palm and to his wrist. “I mean, I sensed you. Maybe it’s because we were apart for so long, but I’ve never been able to do that before…”

“I couldn’t sense you. Maybe a part of me was crying out for you.” Keith shook his head, blushing as he watched him kiss his fingers. “No, I know it was. I know I was crying for you.”

“I know. You would have come to me if you had.” Lance kissed his wrist again and nuzzled it a bit. “But you don’t have to cry for me anymore. I’m here. You’re here. And maybe we have a lot of issues to work out, and maybe it’ll take some time to fix me. But we’re together.” 

“Sei-Lance.” Keith shivered, his eyes closing part way so he could watch Lance’s manipulation of his skin.

Lance looked at him and leaned in to kiss him. 

“Mm.” Keith murmured, his head tilting up for him. Damn he was good at that.

Lance kissed him once more before he pulled back a little and lifted a hand to stroke Keith’s cheek.

Keith’s eyes remained closed as he leaned into that touch, falling into Lance like he had that first time and every time since. How could the Dragon ever doubt a single honest emotion from the fiery god? Every reaction was pure. Like the creature never learned how to tell a lie.

A soft, gentle smile came to Lance’s lips as his fingers gently grazed over that cheek. These little moments did make him feel better, and he hoped that he never had to be without them again. “Keith…”

“Hm?” Dreamily Keith’s eyes opened, gentle blues of a controlled flame glittered in the harsh lighting of the cramped space.

“It’s almost unfair how sexy you are, do you know that?” Lance pouted a bit. 

“I wouldn’t know.” Keith smiled, cheeks developing a tingle from the flattery. “I only see you, and that’s enough for me.”

“Well it might be a little weird if you found yourself sexy the way I find you sexy.” Lance smiled and kissed him again.

“Is it really unfair then?” Keith whispered against Lance’s lips. “You’re the one that benefits.”

“Well, yeah. Because other people think it too, and I’m selfish.” Lance kissed him again. 

“Doesn’t matter. Because I love you.” Keith licked his lips after the last kiss.

“I know.” Lance rested his forehead against Keith’s. “But I still get jealous. I don’t have to like people wanting you.”

Keith chuckled softly. “You’re the only idiot that would want me.”

“That’s absolutely not true, you just have no idea.” Lance managed another smile before he pulled his head back. “Or you do and you’re playing coy.”

“You’re the one that matters.” Keith leaned in to cuddle his head under Lance’s chin. “I’ve been approached. But they wanted something that wasn’t me. You’re the only person that wants ‘me’”

Lance blinked a little. “Oh, have you?” He frowned for just a moment. Did that mean Keith was with other people? Did he want to know? Not really. So, he swallowed that down and rested his hand on Keith’s chest. “Should we get your things and head back to the hotel?”

Keith sensed a subtle shift. “I didn’t sleep around, if that’s what you think. What they wanted was something I wasn’t. I made sure to violently correct them.” He laughed, bitterly. “Even if I didn’t remember, this body belongs to you. No matter the curse.”

Lance’s expression darkened and he stared at him. “Why…would you tell me that?” His frown deepened and he dropped his hand from Keith’s chest. Did he have any idea what that sounded like? Someone could do a lot of things without having sex with someone else. If he had tried to be disappointing, didn’t that mean something happened? Lance wasn’t sure he could take knowing. It would just be one more knife. One more aspect of the curse that was meant to make him suffer. 

“I thought you’d be happy.” Keith straightened little. He wondered what was going through Lance’s mind. One look at Keith and it was obvious he could protect himself. He didn’t need rescuing, and he was a far cry from a damsel in distress. Keith was vicious, feral, and temperamental. Good looking as he was, women loved him, he had no doubts about that. Women were scary when they wanted something but Keith had few issues with them. 

Men were a different beast all together. Keith’s gender was never up for question, but his obvious masculinity made the more feminine aspects of his appearance more aggravating. He didn’t have a ego nor did he fall into vanity about his looks. He had been told that he was one of the pretty ones. The ones that make others confused and question what they don’t wish to question. Men have a tendency to attack things they don’t understand. They don’t like being confused. They want to kill, dominate, and destroy anything that threatens them. Not all men were this way. In civilized society most knew how to ignore that primal urge. However, society was not always civilized. Keith had single handedly stopped whole family lines from continuing on a number of occasions. 

Was he always the victor? No. He had his wounds and his bitter memories. It rarely happened, but a time or two someone got the better of him. Keith blacked out at those moments. When he woke, ashes and burned buildings surrounded him. Soot smeared his skin and choked the air. He’d be relatively unharmed. 

“No one got far with me.” Keith touched Lance’s jaw, guiding it down to him. “This body is yours. And I’ll protect it.”

“Happy?” Lance moved his head however Keith guided him, and his frown was replaced by a look of confusion. “About what? That you were with someone else even if you didn’t have sex? Or that you had to protect yourself? Neither of those sound like things that would make me happy…”

Keith furrowed his brows up. He hadn’t thought of it that way. He was so focused on survival and conquest that it hadn’t occurred to him the revelation of certain encounters would hurt the other god. “I…I’m sorry. Then, just know that you are the only person I’ve ever been with.” He’d keep any further comment about his past to himself. At least when it came to the topic at hand.

Lance sighed and shook his head a little. “You’ve been hurt. That will never make me happy.” He carefully took Keith’s hand again and looked down at it. “And I know this is my fault. It’s the curse, It’s because of me. But…” He shook his head again. “I can’t fault you when it’s been hundreds of years, but I don’t have to like it…”

“Well I’m not a fan of it either.” It was Keith’s turn to pout. “I don’t blame you, not for a second. I didn’t exactly turn you down, and I agreed, no, enforced that I came down here with you. So why do you just get to blame yourself all time. You make it sound like I just sat there and spread my legs.”

“That isn’t what I meant to imply, and I’m sorry.” Lance kept holding his hand, and he sighed a little. “You came with me, but all of this was designed to punish me more than it was designed to punish you. I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt…” He gently ran his thumb over the back of Keith’s hand. 

“So, I’m the burden here?” Keith turned his head aside, glaring at the bin of comic books as though they had personally offended him. 

“Would it have been better for you, if I stayed?” Keith swallowed, shifting that look back on Lance, pain colored his eyes and dragged out his lower lip into an even more prominent pout.

“What? Of course not.” Lance leaned in and kissed him. “You’re absolutely not a burden, and I would be dead if you stayed there. You are my moon. I cannot exist without you.”

“Then stop being a dick about it.” Keith stated bluntly. “How should I feel when you say stuff like that? I mean, consider my point of view a bit more.”

Lance pulled back and stared at him, his eyes widening a little. “What?” He slowly let go of his hand. “Do you honestly think that? Do you think I don’t consider you? That’s all I do. Every minute of every day. And you think I’m a dick because I don’t like you being hurt?” 

Keith grabbed Lance’s shirt and pulled him down to be level with him. “They use me to hurt you. My pain is just a means to an end. I survive time and again so you can suffer. Well I’m tired of that!” Angry tears lined the god’s eyes. “I hate that! I hate that I’m a tool to torture you!” Keith sniffed, trying to fight back the pain in his eyes. 

“I hate it. That I hurt you.” Keith’s fingers slipped from Lance’s shirt, his forehead resting against his chest. “Fuck them.” His voice cracked. “Fuck those useless fucking dead gods.”

Lance blinked again before he gently lifted his hands and rested one on the back of Keith’s head, the other on his back. “I would take a thousand years of pain to prevent you from hurting for even a day.” He murmured and gently stroked his hair. “But you’re not just a tool to hurt me. You are my everything. They can’t take that from you or from me. They can’t make me stop loving you, or wanting you, or needing you.” He kept playing with his hair. “And it’s because you are my life, my love, my moon, that they keep trying.” 

He shook his head again and looked down at him. “I may be a bit broken and downtrodden, but I’m with you. I will be okay. You will be okay. We will be together and happy, and they won’t be able to do a damn thing about it. And if they try to separate us again, I will find them and tear them to shreds.”

Keith sniffed, titling his head up. “Why wait?”

“Well, I’d rather just spend my time with you.” Lance looked down at him and lifted the hand from Keith’s back to touch his cheek, gently wiping away a tear. “And I honestly hope they’re dead and gone.”

Keith’s tears dried as quickly as they’d come. “We should find out.” Fire burned in his eyes now. A defiant righteous blaze. “For what they did, for all they’ve done. We should find them, the ones who are alive, and take back what we’re owed.”

Lance blinked at that expression, and for a moment pain flashed through his eyes. He had seen that look before, when the gods held Suzaku down and clipped his wings. He never wanted to see that expression again, but there it was. “Will you feel better if we do that?” He slid his fingers down his cheek and over his jaw. “Will it satisfy you?”

Keith’s fury dulled a little, the burn settling down as his head slanted, lead by the gentle coaxing of Lance’s finger. “Satisfy me?” He looked between the other’s eyes, getting taken in by the calming sea colored depths.

“I will do that with you if it will satisfy you.” Lance watched him and managed a tiny little smile. “I will do anything to satisfy you.”

“I don’t want us to hurt anymore.” Keith replied. “I know it’s romantic and all to suffer for each other, but I don’t like pain. I’ve got issues, sure but I’m not a masochist. If we can stop this, if we can put an end to it, we should at least try. Right?” He kissed Lance’s finger, then his palm. “If I have a choice, I’d rather fight for us to be happy, then wait for us to suffer.”

“I don’t want us to hurt anymore either.” Lance managed another little smile. “I will fight at your side, for you, for me, for us.” He leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “So we can be happy forever.”

“Good.” Keith nuzzled up to that kiss. “I know just where we should start.” His eyes narrowed.

“Oh? Where’s that?” Lance blinked.

“Genbu.” Keith sat up, “We should visit Shiro.”


	4. Who are you?

Lance sat in a chair by the window of the hotel room and looked out at the city beyond the glass. Keith had gone to work, although he was pretty hesitant about it. Lance understood. He didn’t want to be away from Keith either, but he also couldn’t be selfish and ask Keith to put his life on hold for him. It wasn’t like any of the other times they were reunited, when Lance remained at home and protected their life while Keith was gone. They had two very separate lives, two very separate functions in society, and Keith’s was more important. Keith helped people. He took care of people and nurtured them. What did Lance do? Odd jobs here or there when he needed money to keep himself from starving or freezing. Construction work in the Arizona desert was good for that.

Besides, Keith wanted to find Genbu, Shiro, in this world. Funny, Lance had no idea that was his name. Just as he didn’t know Byakko had chosen Pidge. Part of him was relieved that Keith at least had some support during those centuries, but the majority of him was bitter. Of course he knew it wasn’t Keith’s fault. He knew it was his curse forcing Suzaku away from him for growing periods of time. But knowing that it was designed to punish him, and that it was completely against Suzaku’s will didn’t actually make it easier to accept any of it. In fact, it might have made it worse. Keith had their old friends’ support, and he wasn’t really alone when he really needed someone. Lance really didn’t have that support. There was one time when Kouryuu, the Yellow Dragon had visited him, seemingly by accident. He was going by Hunk now, but his visit was brief, so he didn’t stay. That only made Lance’s feelings of isolation worse. He clenched his fists a little and narrowed his eyes at the Minneapolis skyline as though the shapes offended him.

But he had to keep it to himself. Like so many things, he had to bottle it inside and force it down. Keith got upset when Lance was honest with his feelings. Keith even seemed to get angry at him for it, and all Lance could do was try to diffuse the situation by comforting Keith. If he let these feelings out, he would be accused of being a dick again, or worse, and given the length of their separation this time, it was too painful to hear. Any negative feelings Keith seemed to have towards him were like tiny little knives chipping away at what little sanity he had left. He needed to rebuild himself, not crumble. So he would hide those emotions as best he could. The only problem with that was that Lance was always utterly transparent. As The Azure Dragon or Seiryuu, as Ming Longwei, and now as Lance, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and he never had a good poker face. If he was happy, he smiled. If he was sad, he pouted. If he was angry, his forehead wrinkled. Heart was one of his mansions, after all. The gods may have sealed all of them away when they took his claws, but a sealed heart didn’t mean he didn’t feel anything. So he was horrible at hiding his emotions, and it wasn’t like he could get away with wearing a scarf around his face while he was inside. Not now that Keith’s warmth had thawed him.

So he would compose himself, and he would try to focus on other things. If Keith wanted to find the others, they would find the others. If Keith wanted to stop and just live their lives together, they would do that. For now, they needed to stay here so Keith could have his sense of normalcy while they figured out the best path to take. He sighed a little and leaned back in the chair, his gaze moving from the window to the ceiling before he closed his eyes. If he was going to move here, he would need to go handle things back in Arizona. He would need to get his things. Would Keith go with him? Or would he have to stay here? Could Lance handle making that trip alone again? What if the curse worked its foul magic and made Keith forget him again while he was gone? What would he do then?

He let out a long, drawn out sigh. He needed to focus on the positive. He needed to remember that Genbu was the one who tried to help the two of them back in heaven and got severely punished for it. He needed to remember that Byakko helping Keith kept him off the streets and significantly safer than if she didn’t help. He needed to think about how happy he was when Kouryuu visited because it meant he wasn’t hated. He needed to focus on how happy he felt being around his love, even when the jealousy and bitterness surged. The warmth was enough, wasn’t it? And Keith wanted to be with him. He wanted to stay with him. He could survive on that alone and hopefully push through those negative feelings. 

Keith leaned in the doorway his arms folded across his chest as his weight pressed into the frame. He had been standing there motionless in the shadows watching Lance shift and brood. He looked like a modern day piece of reimagined art. His jawline was set, his eyes dark and focused well beyond the snowy Minneapolis cityscape and the setting afternoon sun. Orange light streaked across the walls and over the floor, moving slowly to follow the sun’s descent. Seiryuu never moved. He barely batted a lash as strip of dying light crossed over his face.

Keith knew Seiryuu better than anyone. For a god he was insecure. For a dragon he was limited. For a human he was inadequate in all things. It would be easy to say Lance had never been this way before, but Keith knew better. In heaven Seiryuu was cocky. Seductive. He knew what he wanted and he would go for it. He was the emperor of dragons, a symbol for rulers over all of China. He was fertility and all that could come forth. Behind closed doors Seiryuu was the constant child. He loved being held and being soothed. Suzaku always indulged the dragon god, putting aside his own nature to ease the troubled heart of his lover. Not to say Lance’s aggressive tendencies didn’t come into play. When he wanted something(or someone) his abundant ego didn’t take no for answer. 

Heaven made sure to strip the great dragon emperor of anything related to his ego or pride. Keith hadn’t expected to but he missed it. The quality was endearing and it gave Suzaku a spark. The bright azure streak of lightning, coloring his otherwise gray world. Keith assured himself, after a time it would flare up again like it never left, but each time Keith wandered away it died and faded out a little more. The cycle giving the damn gods exactly what they wanted. ‘Putting him in his place.’ Keith’s lips snarled up. He’d rip every one of their eyes out if he could. He didn’t care what happened to himself, he cared what would happen to Lance. 

Keith stepped into the room letting his scent precede him so not to startle the dragon god. Coming up behind him he wrapped his arms around his shoulders, lips nuzzling Lance’s temple then his cheek.

“How did a handsome guy like you, end up in a dump like this?” Keith joked. Lance always seemed endeared or at least amused when Keith attempted and failed at flirting. “You’re thinking too hard. I’m gonna get jealous that something got so much of your attention.” 

Lance heard the door open, but he made no move when Keith entered the room. He knew the other man was watching him, and he knew he should turn and greet him, but he also knew he had to sort out his thoughts before he turned around. He didn’t want Keith to see the anguish that crossed his features. He was always worrying Keith, even when they were gods in heaven, and it wouldn’t be fair of him to worry him now. 

And he just barely managed to change his expression before those warm arms wrapped around him. He lifted a hand to rest on one of Keith’s and he turned his head a little, so he could see the faint smile that ghosted on Lance’s lips. “If this is a dump, I’d hate to see what you think about my house.” He whispered, turning his head to look back out the window again. Keith’s attempts at comforting him were always so obvious, but Lance appreciated them all the same. “You’ll need to get jealous of yourself then, since you’re all I think about.”

Keith nuzzled. “If make your face look like that, then what am I to do?” He sighed softly. “Maybe instead of jealousy I should apologize.” He held him for a long while, eyes closed. “As long as you were with me? I think we could make even a swampy slum into a castle.” Keith curled into him a little tighter.

“Remember the cave when we first came to Earth?” Suzaku’s warm lips moved against Lance’s cheek as he spoke. He had a habit of reminiscing the first few days they were together. It was his way of sorting out his memories and to be sure everything fell in line. “We found that cave. We lived there for a few years if I remember. It wasn’t all bad actually.”

Lance closed his eyes. “Thinking about you doesn’t make my face do that. Thinking about how you’re hurt, and how I can’t protect you makes my face like that. I’m sorry.” He gently squeezed the hand his was resting on. “I remember. I remember being happy just because I was with you. And then the farm…” He sighed and opened his eyes again. “I do…have something like a house though. If I’m going to be here with you, I at least have to go back and get things settled. I want you to come with me, but I won’t ask you to disrupt your life for my sake.” 

“You are my life.” Keith didn’t hesitate in his reply as he came around to straddled over Lance’s lap. “I’m on call. I can ask to be taken off the call list. I had my last patient today.” There was a note of pain in Keith’s eyes as he said the words. “So, I’ll be alright if I’m gone for a while.”

“Eh?” Lance blinked. He caught the pain that flickered in Keith’s eyes. So the girl in that room died, then? Keith must be a mess. If Lance was a worse person, he might feel some jealousy, but instead he just felt sad, and so he wrapped his arms around the other man and held him closer on his lap. “I’m sorry.” He murmured. 

Lance figured it out, Keith wasn’t shocked, nor did he try to hide it. “I came back earlier because she passed sooner than they thought.” He nuzzled into his shoulder, trying to get smaller.

Lance held him as close as their bodies would allow, and he gently rubbed his back with one hand. “Well, I’m sure she felt very lucky and happy to have you watch over her.” 

Keith closed his eyes and sighed. “How do you always do that? I come here to make you feel better, but now you’re trying to comfort me.” He rested his body against him, letting Lance support all his weight. “Seems one sided.”

"Trying? But I am comforting you aren’t I? Or is it not working?” Lance continued to rub his back, lifting his other hand to rest on the back of Keith’s head and play with his hair. “Well, it would be weird if I found comfort in your sadness, wouldn’t it?

“Mm.” Keith cooed and became boneless at the attention in his hair. “Still one sided…”

"I don't see it that way.” Lance pouted a little. “I like holding you and comforting you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it.”

“Mmm. Feels good.” Keith turned his head to force Lance’s hand to move to other areas.

"You’re a bird, not a cat.” Lance shook his head but he moved his hand however Keith wanted him to. “I’m glad it feels good.” He murmured and closed his eyes, letting Keith sink into him as much as he needed to.

“Birds like getting… nmm…pet.” Keith pouted sleepily, the sentence proving too hard to push out. It took seconds and room was filled with his even breathing.

Lance shook his head and just held him, stroking his hair, rubbing his back, and once again looking back out the window. He was convinced Keith had no idea just what he did to him. Lance knew Keith wanted to make him feel better, but he had too much going on to be really successful. And with the other man straddling his lap and nuzzled into him, there was no way Lance was going to be moving any time soon, so he just stared out at the sky and did his best not to sink back into his depressing thoughts.

A few hours passed in perfect stillness, snow wafting and twisting in the air, getting pushed off roof tops by frozen wind. Keith’s eyes snapped open and his body tensed. He didn’t move, he didn’t breathe. Black ashes and red embers flickered to life and started to move over the invisible lines of his wings. The scent of smoke, gentle and not over baring, filled the room. 

Lance hadn’t noticed how much time had passed, but it was now completely dark. He blinked when that smokey scent started to fell his nostrils, and he turned his attention away from the window and to the man straddling his lap. “Keith?” He whispered, brows furrowing as he held him, his hand resting on his back, over where one of those lines rested under the cloth. Keith was tense, and that worried Lance, so when he spoke, his voice was soft and soothing, much like one of those little zen waterfalls people listened to in order to relax. “Are you okay?”

“They’re coming.” Keith whispered his voice a little above a hiss. He slipped off Lance’s lap. The scrub top he wore home came off in the same motion, dropping to the floor. Keith straightened his back and licked his lips, rebuffing the calming waves from his lover and hoping he understood the importance of him having that rage building. Standing in the middle of the room, Keith’s muscles shifted under the close-fitting maroon tank top. Talon hooked fingers moved in very purposeful motions. Out of the air, starting as waves of steam, three molten red daggers appeared between Keith’s knuckles.

“Who? What happened?” Lance blinked when Keith left his lap, but he frowned when the other man rebuffed his attempts to soothe him, and his whole stance seemed to change into one that welcomed violence. He got up from his chair and looked at him, then the window, then the door. 

Keith shot Lance a look from the side but didn’t answer. The power cut off, and Keith struck an imposing figure, his face caught in the glow of his daggers.

The door to their suite pushed open, and Keith’s eyes followed the track as it traveled in a slow arch across the floor, picking up speed and slamming hard against wall, breaking the door stop. Keith never flinched, even as wind and paper gushed through the room. It rushed forward and crashed into an invisible wall sliding up to the ceiling and never touching the dark haired god.

Four men marched into the room, two to either side as though they were making a procession. Their movements were in synch and uniform, proving the concept of a hive mind behind them. Keith’s lip snarled up. 

“Muzha.” Poison dripped from Suzaku’s lips

“Ah, my sweet little bird remembers my name now?” First came a voice, then the sound of footsteps, followed by a formless shadow. The dark shade filled in with every step closer it came to Keith. Colored lines started on black shoes as though pushed out through ink on a printer. With every rapidly filling line, Keith’s expression got darker and hungrier. His wings were swirls of black ash, the space between each particle burning red. Black and red roiled around each other appearing more like magma then the feather light ash they’d been before.

Now, in full color, a man stood before the two banished gods. He was below average in height, had hard, narrowed eyes and dark black hair. Pudgy would be a polite way to describe him. He didn’t wear the weight well and through vanity, he hid his size by adorning himself in pink and green silks with ribbons that blew and snapped in the wind around him.

Lance blinked, standing by the chair when the intruders entered the room. He vaguely remembered Muzha’s name, recognizing him as a human-born, and as a protector of the west, of the White Tiger’s territory. Since the Azure Dragon was the deity of the east, he barely gave a second thought to those who were not emperors and were not his own. But this was a peddling man, and Lance’s noble superiority showed when he snorted a bit and scoffed at the one who would dare to talk to his Vermillion Bird that way.

Keith was tense and ready for a fight. Lance could see that, even if the magma wings hadn’t been a sure indication of the other man’s wrath, his tone and snarled lip were enough. So Lance calmly stepped forward, at his partner’s side, shoving his hands into his pockets and watching, silently. If this guy made a move, Lance would respond in kind. 

“Oh, and your Dragon. That explains a lot.” Muzha tensed when he recognized Lance but with roll of his back and a gauged appraisal, the shamed dragon became an after-thought. “You remember me very well then. In the court room. You both were so absolutely tragic!” Muzha pitched his voice in a mockery of sincerity. “My brothers turned away from it, but I made sure I saw how your beautiful upright faces twisted.” Muzha glared at Lance then back to Keith. 

“Or how you cried out. Beauty even in tragedy. I coul—” Muzha cut himself off with a strangled cry, sweat beading down his forehead as the burning hot tip of an iron red dagger froze centimeters from his throat. The man to Muzha’s left held his fist tightly around the blade, his flesh and clothing burning away as his whole body convulsed then burst into nothing but ash.

“Shit.” Keith swore, his tone guttural. “If we want you to talk, we’ll ask you to talk.” He slipped his feet to the side changing his stance while holding the last two daggers up toward his face.

"Oh. You're that asshole." Lance nodded once, but made no move even as one of those men turned to ash. He didn’t need to look at Keith to know the rage that radiated from the other man, and he managed to hide his complete surprise at the manifestation of one of Keith’s abilities. A simple dagger couldn’t do that, but that red blade did, and they were banished with only the dingiest of clothes. 

“Mindless soldiers. It’s all he can do now. Isn’t it, Muzha?” Keith taunted. 

“It’s all I need for you.” Indignant rage contorted Muzha’s smug mask. He rubbed his meaty hands together as he pulled them apart a blazing sword grew between them, sheathed in the man’s own flesh. Glowing in vermillion, the Chinese character ‘star’ was etched into the side of the blade. Keith’s first mansion.

“Do you try to be tastless!?” The Vermillion Bird scoffed. “You are really-ugh. Just wow. I could kill you and do Heaven a favor.” White wolfish teeth bared with the man’s smile. “I’m probably gonna do it any way.” 

Lance couldn’t help it. He just laughed at the other god’s attempt to intimidate him. Did he know who they were? Did he know that fire didn’t work on fire or water? He shook his head and glanced at Keith. For a moment, his cockiness returned. There was no way this pathetic excuse for a deity could do anything to two of the celestial beings, right? Banished or not, they were still leagues better than this little pudgy eyesore. “Do it anyway. No one would miss him. I’m sure people barely remember him.” 

Keith stood taller moving to stand beside his lover. “It’s never that easy.” 

“Doesn’t matter who remembers me. I do well enough on my own.” Muzha swung the blade once, forcing Keith to guard and stand in front of Lance. He split the shockwave, causing it to shatter the windows to either side of the pair. Frigid artic air blasted across the room in a suctioning gust of wind, ridding the high-rise suite of heat. 

“Oh, enough of this.” With one more well-checked glance at Lance Keith darted forward. The largest of the men stepped between him and his target. The lackey had a shoulder width that would make most hallways appear cramped. He towered over Keith’s frame with an additional two feet on the man and four times his girth. Keith was sure he didn’t look like that when he came into the room, but the semantics of the situation was not something he concerned himself with. 

A large, log sized arm came out to swing at the small god, then came back around to try for a second attempted as Keith dodged. He was using his arm like it was a freaking mallet! Keith may have chuckled at the image if that mallet didn’t look like it could crush his skull. One more swing and Keith used the monster’s arm to propel over to the dresser, dodging another swipe from the left along the way. Keith pushed himself up from the piece of furniture and flung himself on to the brute’s shoulders. His long legs slipping easily around it’s thick neck. With a twist of his hips and gripping of his thighs the room filled with the sound of crunching bone. Keith bent his body toward the ground and used the goons back for leverage as he separated its brain stem from its spine. With the ease an opener pops of the bottle cap, Keith bloodlessly decapitated the mindless thing.

The man staggered but no longer fought as the body continued to try and figure out what had just happened. Keith swayed with him, his eyes narrowed and sharp as he flung his second dagger at the third man. The non-monstrous man fared no better than goon number one, who foolishly caught the blade in his hand. An audible pop signaled his demise, and within the haze of flesh, cloth, and ash, Keith bent farther back, crawling down the huge body, keeping it balanced the whole way. When he touched the floor, his hips jerked and in one sweeping swing of his legs, strength and momentum combined tossing the body into the fourth flunky. The move effectively pinned the brainless dolt to the floor, leaving Keith standing in the center of ash and smoke, with the last burning dagger held between his teeth. The red steel glow reflecting off the abyssal embers of his eyes.

Lance watched each of Keith’s fluid movements with growing desire. His pupils changed into those dragonesque slits, the blue glowing just slightly as though reflecting each slight surge in light that came from his lover. Suzaku’s ability to fight was always something Seiryuu found amazing. The other man’s agility was something to behold. It made each move seem less like violence and more like some sort of intricate dance. 

“Well enough on your own hm?” Lance’s voice was soft, and he grinned widely. “It doesn’t look like it.” He glanced around the room. Snow blew in from ledges just beyond the windows and he tsked. “Too cold.” He murmured and reached down, scooping up a handful of snow and watching it start to harden. So he moved his hand, pulling the snow as it froze, forming a small, makeshift spear. His eyes found Muzha and he took slow steps towards him, coming to a stop behind Keith and turning the sharpened end of the long icicle towards the lone god.

Feeling the presence of his lover, Keith pressed the length of his body back against Lance, his wings lowering down to fold back, incasing the Dragon Emperor in their heat. “Are you okay?” He purred with an extra lean of his hip.

Lance felt the surge of heat go through him, and he was thankful for it, but he kept the ice in his hand steady, and he kept his gaze on Muzha. “I am. I’ll be better when that asshole is dead, though.” 

Muzha stared at the remains of his guards in stunned silence before he looked at the wanton gods. Their bodies pressing together. Suzaku’s smaller frame fit perfectly against Seiryuu’s. It was a mockery to the lesser god. He couldn’t touch them. They were perfect, even as cast-off gods, molded from the fabric of the sky. 

Muzha hated them. He hated their standing. He hated their power. He hated that even their fall was romantic. These gods that were given everything and never had to work for an ounce of their power, while he struggled, only to be mocked and spat upon by their ilk. 

“You don’t even know why I’m here.” Muzha hissed, his sword blazing white. Keith shivered, feeling it’s familiar heat against his face. The wind picked up around the three gods and the sword became hotter, feeding upon the oxygen. 

Keith’s eyes narrowed and shifted to stare at the bundle of objects he picked up from the storage unit. They laid in a forgotten pile at the end of the kitchenette. Muzha followed his eyes. “Ah. There?”

Keith tensed as the fire around him dimmed. It was getting harder for him to breath.

Lance rested his hand on Keith’s back, as though his touch could soothe him even though the oxygen was depleting from the room, but Muzha had made a mistake. Two actually. One, he forgot that Lance was a water god, and didn’t rely on the air as much as Keith did. And two, the idiot took his eyes off the two fallen gods to look at whatever Keith was looking at. It was in that moment that Lance’s tail whipped the lesser god, the sound echoing through the room like fish being slapped onto the table, ready to be gutted. The shock of the hit clearly caught Muzha off guard because that blazing sword fell from his hand, though the flame did not flicker. Lance could have used water to douse it, but it was too cold for anything but ice. 

Keith pushed away from Lance, racing toward the sword with his arm stretched out. Muzha saw, in a fraction of a second, what was about to happen and ran forward. Moving faster than a man of his girth should, a meaty hand gripped Keith by the throat and pulled him in like a wide receiver clutching his prize. The god gasped for air as sausage sized fingers closed tighter around his neck, the oxygen leaving Keith’s lungs and dimming his fire until only red embers remained. 

“AH! AHAHA! That’s it! You little fucking dumb ass! Bird brained loon psychopath! You came right to me!” As Muzha continued to gloat Keith grew dimmer. “Any last words to say to your little ‘empress’, Dragon emperor?” He mocked, pulling Keith violently to his body. Something akin to hunger flashed through the former human’s eyes and he leaned his head against Keith’s. He buried his face into the thick multi-colored tresses, strands of black silk sticking to Muzha’s lips as inhaled his scent and exhaled with a shudder of pleasure.

Lance could have moved faster if it was warmer, but with Keith’s body fading, there wasn’t much he could do to regain the heat. He lowered himself, icicle in hand, ready to lunge at the one who held his lover. No one was allowed to touch his Suzaku that way, and ice coursed through his veins has his rage grew, the icicle in his hand seeming to lengthen. And if the touching wasn’t bad enough, that disgusting pig made his preference for the bird god a little too obvious. A low growl sounded in his throat, but as he shifted in preparation of his lunge, he saw it and he remained still. “No.” The word was thick with the guttural sound of his dragon voice. Keith’s foot, no, just his toe was touching that discarded sword. “Do you?” 

Muzha eyes filled with fury. “Do **I** have any last words? I’m just going to get rid of the two of you and take what I was sent to take.” The man purred. “Hmn maybe a little more.” He leaned in to Keith’s neck, breathing him in again. “Such a sweet inviting smell.” The rough tip of the lesser creature’s tongue touched Keith’s warm flesh. Time Froze. Then sped up at a pace difficult for even gods to follow.

Keith hooked his foot under the sword’s hilt, catching its edge. He kicked the sword into the air causing a brilliant arch of flame to streak across the ceiling. Keith slipped out of Muzha’s hands, the demi-god’s nails racking across his neck leaving five ugly streaks across his pale skin. Free of his capture, Keith crouched down, and, like a coiled spring, leaped for the blade. Taking the handle, he finished the flaming arch through the center of the lord’s body.

Keith stood from the stooped position he landed in, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he glared down at the twitching silk-slippered feet. The blade blazing to new life in its rightful wielder’s hands. The light catching in his eyes gave them an eerie bestial reflection. Muzha was still alive, split and cauterized down the center. Words, if they could be called that, sputtered and leaked from his mouth along with bloody meat and teeth.

“I think I would want my last words to be more elegant. Wouldn’t you, My Dragon.” Keith grinned to Seiryuu, tapping his sword against his shoulder, the flames never touching him. He slid the blade of over his hand how a mother might inspect her baby after a fall. 

“Welcome home.” Keith whispered. He turned the sword and drove into his chest. Flares of fire reached out around him in thin tendrils of heat licking at the floor, ceiling, and even over Lance’s cheek as he pushed blade back into his body. Keith’s body arched as though to lover’s beckoning, accepting the mansion into himself.

“I think a fake, pathetic excuse for a god doesn’t have even the slightest ounce of elegance.” Lance snarled, unable to contain his rage. Not only had Muzha sniffed his Keith, but he had also cut that perfect, beautiful neck. He had touched what he wasn’t worthy of touching, and he would have done more if he was able. That was unacceptable. With another growl, he stepped forward to the halved man, smirking at the way those bulbous eyes moved about frantically, the fear palpable and delicious. “Muzha, let me let you in on a little secret.” He growled out each word. He pressed the point of that icicle against one of those cheeks, not cutting the flesh, but watching the way the ice melted against his heated skin. “Do you know why they couldn’t give away my mansions when they banished me?”

He smirked when those frantic eyes widened, realization crossing his halved features. “My mansions are me. And as angry as those shitheads were, they couldn’t dismember me. They left me with my horns, my neck, my chest and foot, my heart, my tail…” As if to emphasize, that appendage slid up one of the twitching arms. “And of course, my belly.” His eyes flashed. “They sealed them as best they could, but you, in your arrogance, dared to taste my precious Empress. Do you know what that means?” 

This time when he grinned, his teeth were much sharper. “That means you foolishly broke the seal on my belly, and it is very, very empty.” Those blue eyes flashed once more, he would make this arrogant lesser god suffer for what he did. And so he pulled that icy blade back and shoved it into one of Muzha’s shoulders, allowing his chill to spread the cold to his blood, freezing it enough so that he could snap off that arm like a twig. That was the first limb he ate. Blood, dribbling from his chin as he grinned at the pained expression the god gave. No. He wouldn’t die just yet, and Lance would cherish each gargle of pain. He cut his Keith five times, so Lance would make sure that number was repaid. 

So he took the other arm, leaving it on Muzha, his eyes narrowing at the nails that had scratched his lover. He ate that hand first. Several slow, painful bites. Then he progressed up his arm to his elbow for his third snack. The fourth was his arm up to the shoulder, bones crunching as Lance’s dragon teeth crushed them with ease. The final bite came when his lips moved to Muzha’s ear. “You were never good enough.” He whispered before he pulled that small little appendage off with his teeth. “You taste like shit, too.” And he didn’t give the lesser god a chance to even make another sound before he finished devouring him in a spurt of blood and a shattering of bone. With the body gone, and the dead god in his dragon’s-belly, Lance felt a sense of calm come over him, and he picked up a pink ribbon that must have fallen in the fight. With it, he wiped the blood from his mouth and face.

He turned to Keith once he was sure the blood was gone, his eyes still those of the dragon, though his teeth had returned to normal, and the malicious grin was gone. “So….do you want to tell me why that asshole came here?” 

Keith didn’t turn away as Lance doled out Mazha’s punishment. He hadn’t while they were in heaven and he wouldn’t now. He didn’t have a taste for Lance’s style, but Keith never had an appetite for devouring the vanquished. That was a dragon thing. Keith maimed and Keith killed but his powers were of a different sort than those of Lance’s. Though under the Azure Dragon’s gaze the bird god stood taller. Bowing his head to the ancient imperial moniker. Empress was formal, but the gendered word did little to ruffle him. When you spend time as a genderless god labels tend to be little more than ways the simple minded folk sort things out. 

Keith stepped over to the bag he brought from the storage house. “This.” He whispered, flopping a leather-bound note book in his hands. “This is what they’re always after.”

It was old. The pages loose, yellowed by time, and getting whiter the farther back they went. He flipped it open for Lance to see before handing it over to him. Inside were lists of times, locations, and several different names.

"Always?” Lance frowned, and his eyes returned to their human appearance. He shook his head and reached out to touch Keith’s hands, though he didn’t actually take that book. They were so warm. His cold fingers trembled a little as the heat entered him through such a simple touch. “And they just keep coming after you?” His brows furrowed as concern crossed his features. “Keith…I…”

Keith flipped his hand to hold Lance’s. “I was obsessed with gods. Every time I found a new one I’d feel a piece of me become whole.” He smoothed his fingers over Lance’s knuckles. “but then it would fade and I’d feel emptier than I did before. I thought if I found them, I’d find what I was missing.” 

“This was the strongest they’ve sent so far, if that tells you anything.” He glared at the greasy patch of tile still smeared with Muzha’s blood.

Lance held his hand and shook his head. "Well they made a mistake. We each have a mansion back. That can only go badly for them.” He smiled a little, trying to ease the crease in his brow. “But…” The smile faded. “He touched you. You need to be purified…” He stepped a little closer. “and it’s too cold here for me to do it.”

“Purified?” Keith blushed then felt a lump grow in his throat. He knew exactly what the word meant and he bowed his head to Seiryuu when he closed the distance between them. “The storage unit. It’s heated.”

“Yes. Thoroughly.” Lance squeezed his hand and leaned in. “Let’s go there.” His eyes darkened as he watched that blush come to Keith’s cheeks.

Keith’s wings started to shimmer. The molten lair flaking away to expose the gentle yellow warmth below. “W-we should get out of here then before they come up here.” He stuttered looking up at Lance then back down to the floor, his foot making circles in the building snow at his feet.

"Okay." Lance leaned in and nuzzled his cheek, licking it once before he stepped back and gathered their things. “Let’s go.”

It took little only moments for them to get down the lobby and out of the hotel with the staff barely sparing them a glance. Keith shouldered his pack, wings gone to the public but their burn increased the more he was caught in Lance’s gaze. 

Keith should have known the moment Lance referred to him as ‘empress’. Despite his feelings on it, Suzaku was aware his symbol was used to represent empresses for centuries in several Asian cultures while the male line was represented by Seiryuu. The dragon brought fertility to the family lines and promised a strong healthy lineage. Keith’s symbol was virtue and grace. His presence rooted out corruption. Or that’s what mythology said. The real history was soaked in something far more viscus than fables. Mythology had a funny way of providing just enough truth to hide the facts. History my say that those gods had different names, different purposes but Keith knew none of them to be true.

Lance tossed their things into the back of his car and looked at Keith, licking his lips as he took in the other man’s form. He knew Keith understood. He could tell the way his wings flared and his breathing picked up. If they weren’t careful, Lance would take him right here in the parking garage. But he held himself in check for now, opening the door and waiting for Keith to get in. 

Keith slipped into the front of the car, swallowing and holding his hands in his lap and blushing darkly, the flush running over his cheeks, his nose, his ears, and then down his neck. Something even smelled sweet to him but he couldn’t place it.

“D-do you remember how to get there.” Keith looked to Lance as he sat in the driver’s seat his eyes moving over his face then down his form before going back to his face. Lance was tense. He was pissed. He was riled up.

"Yes.” Lance did his best to seem calm, but his jaw was set as he drove, his hands gripping the wheel. He glanced over at Keith, the desire inside him growing at the other man’s shy demeanor. He kept looking at Lance, but looking away as if the sight was too much for him, but not in a bad way. He was so shy, it was driving Lance mad. He needed to have him.

He parked the car at that same place they had been the other night, and he turned his head to look at him. “You have to open the gate, right?”

“Huh? Oh yeah. I can do that.” Keith got out and opened the gate, pushing it open before he leaned down by Lance’s window, motioning for him to roll it down.

Lance did so and looked at him, arching a brow. “Aren’t you going to get back in?”

“You can park the car right in the lot, over there.” Keith motioned to a spot a few yards with a flickering street lamp. “I’ll just walk over there and open the door so you don’t have to wait in the cold.” Keith leaned into the window as he spoke, arms folding over the door.

“All right.” Lance leaned out of the window and kissed him, grinning against his lips. “I’ll do that.”

Keith swallowed after the kiss letting the passion of it travel down his spine and sink to his toes. He fumbled with the keys dropping them a time or two into the snow until getting the door open. Stepping inside he was careful to let it close but not with enough pressure for the automatic lock to activate.

Lance had never parked the car so quickly in his life. He grabbed their belongings from the trunk and all but ran to where Keith was opening the door, his eyes black, his tail swishing behind him, unseen by others, not that anyone else was around.

Keith had just pushed up the unit door, when he felt Seiryuu step into the building. The air crackled and shook with the emperor’s presences and Keith saw lines electricity arching over the walls. His hair tingled. His feathers plumed and ruffled on wings. No longer made of fire or molten rage, his wings were now a soft gentle down of gold, onyx, sapphire, ruby and emerald feathers. Each gem shimmering in the light as though every delicate quill was hand crafted by an expert jeweler. Keith was the embodiment of want; gilded decadence covered in the richest of ivory cream, cheeks garnished with the hue of summer fresh strawberries.

“Lance…” Keith whispered, hating and shivering at the tremble in his voice.

"Keith..." Lance barely put their things down before he yanked the door down behind them and grabbed Keith’s arms, pulling him against his chest and kissing him with the passion of a tidal wave. Seeing Suzaku’s gilded wings was too much. It was too reminiscent of a time when they belonged only to each other, and no one could stand in their way. Before all of this. 

He kept kissing him, his tail curling around the other man’s waist as he started inching him towards the wall. He needed to brace Keith, and himself, or his desire would cause them both to tumble to the floor. 

“Mmmm!” Keith whimpered, gripping Lance’s sleeves. He was pressed to the wall of the small unit. The metal was cold and unforgiving, but he was not focused on that. With Seiryuu’s passion pushing into him crushing Suzaku’s mouth, his mind was unbothered with anything else. Virility, power and strength merged in Keith’s core, growing from the place their tongues swirled and fought against each other.

Lance held him against the wall, his hands moving to tug at Keith's pants. There was no way he was going to waste time. Not when he was already at his limit. Seeing Keith’s body move in that sexy way it always did when he fought started it all, and the need to make him his again took over. He pulled those pants from his hips and immediately slid a hand into his underwear. 

“Heika!” Keith’s head arched back as he called out the god’s ancient Japanese title. The moment Lance touched him, time and place was lost to Keith. The dragon’s caress was cold, as always, but lingering on the edges was Suzaku’s borrowed heat. It coiled around the chill and joined back into Keith’s body as Lance continued to feed upon his warmth. 

“Oh? What’s that?” Lance nuzzled his cheek as his hand curled around him. His other hand pushed Keith’s underwear down to make his movements easier. “Do you want to submit to me, Suzaku?”

Keith fought it, he always fought it. He didn’t hate being Seiryuu’s. He understood the act of claiming. At the root of their creation they were mere beasts. But the feelings flowing into him were terrifying. He wanted to submit. He wanted to let Seiryuu wrap himself around him and devour him whole, if only so their hearts could be as one. 

“I… never submit.” Keith panted, turning his head to Seiryuu, his cheek streaked by dirt and rust. “I never bow. You are my emperor. You are My Dragon.” He panted the words he said a thousand times before. Blue flame flickered in his eyes as the god whimpered, hips bucking up. He couldn’t give in to easily, Lance wouldn’t enjoy the chase. “I-I won’t submit, but I give you everything because I’m yours. I’m always yours.” His words lost their tenor as he gasped, body begging for more.

“Then haven’t you submitted already?” Lance groaned and buried his face into Keith’s neck as he kept his hand moving. “I have submitted to you. You are my sun and my moon. My stars and my sky.” His hand moved faster, his thumb brushing over his tip. “If you are mine, then you have submitted. And I can only purify you if that’s the case.” He licked at his neck a bit. “Are you going to deny me and let that light claim of an asshole god hang over you?”

“Ah! Lance!” Keith tilted his head listlessly to the side. His words broke him from his fight. His skin crawled and itched, starting from where the lowly creature dared to touch him. Lance was his reprieve. Where he touched ecstasy was promised. Keith’s eyes dulled as he allowed pleasure to sink in, and his hips jerked up for more. “I d-don’t want his claim. Take it away. I don’t like the feel of it.”

"Then don't deny me." Lance kept moving his hand. “Show me you want to be one with me.”

Keith’s strong desperate fingers gripped at the coiled tail around his waist, his weight supported by the one appendage. “I submit!” He cried out as he emptied his shameless desire into Lance’s dark skinned hand.

“Then I will purify you.” Lance’s eyes flashed and he licked his neck, his hand continuing to move as quickly as he could move it and still pleasure Keith, despite the other man’s orgasm. He licked again before he gently nipped the pliant skin at his mouth, kissing and licking the area as if he could heal the non-existent wound. 

“Nng!” Keith gasped, his head reeling from his orgasm only to run right into the building up of another. “H-heika… nnn p please.. nnn!” The god squeaked when the bite came and shivered at the licks. Keith was powerless in Lance’s hold, destined to be a writhing mess. But if it was the Azure Dragon who brought him there, Keith welcomed it.

“That’s it.” Lance licked his neck and let go of Keith’s heat to slide his hand to pull up one of the smaller man’s legs, smearing the evidence of Keith’s pleasure along his thigh. “Say it again.” He nipped his neck a second time, his other hand undoing his own pants. Keith’s orgasm had sent a burst of heat into him and he just wanted more of that delicious feeling. 

“Heika.” Keith whimpered, his hips already twitching in anticipation. 

Lance shuddered at the sound of that word and he pressed his flesh against Keith’s, rubbing them together. “And you want me?” He licked his neck, then nuzzled along his jaw and up to his cheek, smearing a little bit of dirt there. 

“You’ll get dirty.” Keith whispered as he turned his head away.

"I’m about to make you dirty.” Lance rubbed himself against him again, lowering a hand to ready his body. “I don’t mind getting dirty as well.” He whispered into his ear before licking the shell. “Don’t turn away from me.” 

“I can’t I… It…” Regardless of his protest Keith turned his head back up to Lance, his slack lips, swollen even of their lust. “You’re… I’m..” 

Lance groaned at that look and he took Keith's mouth in a passionate kiss, his fingers continuing to move in him. “Hm?” He grinned as he licked at Keith’s lips when the kiss broke. 

“You’re...” Keith’s body moved, slipping against the wall while his leg hooked around Lance’s shoulder in an arousing display of flexibility, his other spread and lifted to open against the wall trusting Lance’s tail to hold his slight weight even has his own hands slipped over the scales and the soft spines. His fingers fondling the thin webbing between the points.

Lance let out a growl as his whole body shuddered at that touch to his tail. “Nnn… I’m what?” He managed against his lips, pulling his fingers out so he could hold Keith better and shift him so he could line up. “Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

“Do I have to try?” Keith whimpered, moving his arms to wrap around Lance’s neck. “Are you displeased?” His breath came hot and needy, but his body wracked with virginal tremors in the Dragon’s clutches. Instead of being pressed against the rusted metal siding, he was now sprawled over the top of a fainting bed. They were in his palace surrounded by hues of the sun. His back arching and hips lifting unsure and scared, yet welcoming the first claiming thrust of the emperor who stole into his home.

Lance rubbed against Keith and groaned a little. “Do I feel displeased?” He licked at Keith’s lips and held him, his fingers gently pressing into the flesh of his hips as he shifted enough to keep Keith steady, but also positioned well. He kissed him, his eyes half closing as he stole that need from the other man, his desire growing hotter as his tongue tasted his partner’s mouth. “Don’t let me go” He whispered before pushing his hips up and entering him. 

“AH!” Keith’s fingers gripped at the back of Lance’s neck then clutched into his hair pulling at the locks. “Seiryuu!”

Lance groaned and started to move his hips, pushing up, but using his tail to keep Keith as steady and comfortable as possible. “Nnn…. Suzaku!”

“AH! Aah! So.. nnmg!” Keith’s cries were pitched and clipped, unable to complete one before another came through. Seiryuu wasn’t cold this time, he wasn’t the frosted creature pushing inside of him. Keith’s body was burning up from every point Seiryuu touched him, the cycle of heat continuing where their bodies joined. “Aha! Seir… Lo..AH!”

Lance moaned with each of Keith’s sounds. They were the sexiest noises, and the thought that that asshole from earlier thought he could take that from him only caused him to push his hips faster and grip his hips harder. Keith was his. Suzaku was his. And he would devour anyone who tried to take him from him. “Mine.” He managed between moans and thrusts, sweat forming on his brow. 

Keith’s head rolled to one side baring his neck to Lance, showing the faintly fading scar just over the artery. It pulsed and drove superheated blood through the god’s body, the flesh jumping with every pump of his heart. It all laid under the taint of that man’s touch. “Take it.”

"Fuck…” Lance couldn’t help it. He leaned in and licked that exposed neck, his tongue sliding over that scar. “You know what this does to me.” He managed between gasps for air and moans of pleasure. He hadn’t tasted Suzaku in so long, he wasn’t sure he could handle it. He tended to lose control of his body when he tasted that lifeblood. And while he would never actually devour his lover, the symbolism of a little bite and a little blood wasn’t lost on him. If he bit Keith, Lance was taking him into himself and making them one. He shuddered and continued to lick at that scar. If he bit Keith, he wouldn’t be able to control his passion, and it might overwhelm the both of them. “A..Are you sure?”

“You have it back. You need it. I want it.” Keith’s wings spread out against the wall and the colors became more vibrant with each thrust of his lover. “You’ve gone without it for too long. Let me feel it. I want to.”

Lance’s response was a growl as he pushed his fangs into that usual spot, moaning loudly when a little blood hit his lips. Just one bite. Just a little blood. He pulled his head back, that red liquid tinting his lips, and his eyes darkened to black when he saw that little stream of blood. He leaned in to lick the precious liquid as though that would heal the tiny wound. His hips bucked throughout it all, his moans and grunts constant. Keith had given him everything, and Lance wanted to make sure he gave him everything in return.

“Heika!” The smaller god cried out when he felt the bite then the power of his thrust. It was too much. The fragile form of his human body could only handle so much. Any more than this, Keith worried he’d be broken. 

“I! AH!” He came with a cry that was so compacted it was silent with desperate gasps for air. His nails raked across Lance’s shoulders as he pushed himself from the wall by his wings and then harder down on his lover forcing himself to take more and everything he could as he poured himself between their still moving bodies.

Too much. When Lance felt Keith's body tighten around him and those nails in his shoulders, he came, his hips still bucking as they emptied everything he had. He moaned and carefully pulled out of him, panting and lazily licking his neck, murmuring unintelligible words of affection. 

“L-lance.” Keith body fell heavy against the other, trembles still riding through him as his wings slumped to the floor like dead weight. 

Lance managed to hold him up, though his tail started to go limp and slide out from around him. He panted and clutched Keith to him, his arms trembling as the pleasure still echoed through him. “Keith…”

Keith shifted, his legs slipping down to support himself but his strength was gone so, he stumbled back against the wall knees bowing out. His incorporeal wings were too heavy for his human body and they prevented him from getting the footing he needed to stand. “The bed.” He whispered. “I need… to lay down.” 

"Nnn." Lance pulled Keith from the wall, getting him to the bed and laying him down before he half laid on top of him, curling around him and nuzzling his cheek.

“Mm.” Keith nuzzled back, but his energy was gone, taken in by the dragon god who now curled around him, warm and protective. “How do you feel? Better?”

"Complete.” Lance murmured as he kept nuzzling Keith’s cheek. He knew he drained Keith’s energy, and he was just as spent, but he would do whatever he could to keep his lover happy and safe. “How do you feel?” He whispered.

“Hmmm, I wonder.” Now supported by the bed, Keith lifted a wing up and spread it out so the primary feathers gapped apart all the way down to his spine. The fine gems glittered while his long soft spilling pool of metallic tail feathers shone bright against the worn flannel covering of his bed. “I haven’t seen my wings like this since heaven.” He strummed his own fingers up to touch a sapphire tip.

Lance watched him. He watched those shining feathers, ruby, amber, emerald, and sapphire blending into each other. His lips twitched into a sort of a smile as he nuzzled into Keith’s warmth, his tail curling lazily over them both, faint pinks and oranges reflecting off the iridescent greens and blues of his scales. “They’re beautiful…” He whispered. “I will never regret giving you my colors.” It was such a simple, but deeply romantic gesture at the time. The Azure Dragon had gifted his Vermillion Bird with gems of sapphire, emerald, aquamarine, turquoise, and jade, but he had also given him his colors as well. The life of the oceans. In return, Keith had given him the warmth of the sun. And thus they had been intertwined for millennia.

“The last night we were together in heaven.” Keith whispered. “I haven’t seen them since the night you gave them to me.” He went silent as the memory of the following morning fought for dominion in his mind. The fear and humiliation of being pulled away and dragged through the streets of heaven as though they were heretics. Keith’s jaw tightened and the gold in his wings blazed a little brighter. 

“I don’t regret taking your colors.” Keith said, ridding himself of darker thoughts. He reached down stroking over the tail wrapped lovingly around him and he smiled at the warm coral shades that shifted into deep crimsons. An ocean sunset just after an eruption. Violence and calm. The sun bled into the sky before falling deep into the caress of the ocean. “That’s how you make me feel.” Keith pointed to one red fin as though Lance could somehow hear his thoughts.

"I make you feel like you don’t regret it?” Lance blinked and looked at Keith, though he was comforted by the gentle hand on his tail. “I meant…Well you know. We just had pretty passionate sex and your response was I wonder…” He pouted a little, but he curled closer to him. Keith had to know just how much Lance hated their last morning in heaven. Seiryuu fought and struggled and begged to keep Suzaku out of it, but those bastards used his beloved bird to torment him further. And yet he still didn’t regret his love. He would never regret it. They suffered too much for it, but he would never take it back.

“No. I you make me feel like that. When the sun is wounded and too tired to shine and it starts to fall. It cries and bleeds so much it stains the sky, but it loves the world even if it’s cruel. Though it has a breaking point. It’s just a fragile circle and it can no longer handle what the world gives it. The ocean is there to catch it. It holds it close and covers it in its waves letting it rest safely, giving it the strength to rise the next day.” Keith spoke in whispered words while his fingers slipped over the red and orange fins.

Lance smiled a little and kissed Keith’s cheek, then his lips. “Oh yeah?” He nuzzled a little before he settled back down and closed his eyes. “That still doesn’t tell me if the sex was good.” There was a bit of laughter in his voice as he held Keith. He tried to distract himself from the pleasure that shot through his body with each of those simple touches. 

“You need me to tell you it was? I can’t walk.” Keith turned his head up to finally look at Lance’s face, blood still coming from the wound. It wasn’t fast, just a slow healing tickle of crimson. 

Lance pouted. “Well no, but I like hearing it.” He looked down at him, his eyes moving to that thin line of blood, and his brows furrowed. “Should I get you a bandage or some gauze or something? Did I hurt you?”

“Hurt me? Are you serious? I almost blacked out. It’s been ages since you’ve done that. I might not be an ideal mate for a dragon, but I’m messed up enough to enjoy it.” Keith grinned playing it off as nothing. The wound would heal and for a while he’d bare his lover’s mark, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt happier.

“I don’t want you to be an ideal mate for a dragon, though…” Lance’s brows furrowed. “I want you to be ideal for me, and I think you are. But if you almost blacked out…” He sighed and buried his face into Keith’s hair, his cheeks and ears flushing with shame, and the sunset hues in his tail faded, replaced by a deep, desolate blue.

“Because it felt that good.” Keith nuzzled Lance’s ear. “You make me feel that good.”

"Oh." Lance’s voice was muffled, but the tail was back to the previous colors, and the scales even seemed to take on a slight glow. He was relieved, mostly, but incredibly happy. “I want you to always feel good with me.”

“Not my first rodeo, cowboy. Or however the saying goes.” Keith winked and licked at a dimple on Lance’s cheek.

"That's not cute." Lance pouted. “That makes it sound like you’ve done all this before being with me.”

“You know I never did any of this before you. And it was obvious.”

"I know.” Lance kept pouting, and he curled more around him. 

“Do you? You almost sounded like you really doubted me for a second.” Keith started to stroke the dragon’s hair. “Believe me. No one would have dared to do what you did.”

“No. I don’t doubt you.” Lance looked at him, though his pout left him at the sensation of Keith’s fingers in his hair. “You are my everything. I just don’t like some of these stupid modern American sayings. They lack eloquence.” He leaned over and kissed him. “And you are such a stunningly eloquent creature.”

Keith kissed him back. “Since when?” One eyebrow arched up. “What part?” He tilted his head in honest confusion. Keith didn’t think of himself as eloquent. He swore a lot. Spoke aggressively, he had a taste for violence and he could talk like a sailor on holiday, but maybe that was what Lance liked? “You’re mistaking me for someone else?”

“Never.” Lance kissed him and smiled a little. “When you want to be, you can be very eloquent. You know that as well as I do.” He nuzzled his cheek and whispered. “And you are the most graceful.”

“You’re shitting me.” Keith’s eyes were glued to the way Lance watched him. “You like watching me fight. You always have. I wouldn’t call that graceful. You won’t see me on any dancefloors anytime soon.”

Lance pouted again. “It is graceful…You don’t have to dance to be graceful.” He shook his head and curled against him, tucking his face against his neck and closing his eyes. “Can’t I just like you and think you’re great?”

“If you think I am…” Keith folded his wings down and around them, using one to nuzzle Lance’s cheek. 

"Do you doubt me?" 

“I don’t doubt you think I’m great.” Keith continued to move his wing against the caramel cheek. “I doubt your system of judging.”

Lance closed his eyes at the soft touch of those feathers against his skin. “Then can’t you just leave it at that?”

“Okay, Okay. I’ll be your eloquent, graceful empress.” Keith smirked. 

“Are you mocking me?” Even with his eyes closed, Lance kept his pout. “And here I was going to offer you a better place to live than a storage unit.”

“What could be better than forcing you to be this close?” As Keith spoke he ran his hand through is wing and plucked one ruby feather. He twirled between his fingers and it became as heavy as a jewel, but maintained the down softness.

"I have a house. Well, kind of.” Lance sighed and opened his eyes, looking at him. “I mean, you said come back to Arizona with me right? For at least a few days to get it settled?”

“Yeah. I will.” The tip of Keith’s tongue slipped out the side of his mouth as his brow crunched in concentration. His slender fingers were working diligently; pulling on the chain and leather necklace Lance wore constantly. Six feathers in all adorned it. Each a shattered remnant Keith stole from the floor as after his wings were clipped and he was forever bound to the earth. The one he placed today laid in the center, full and undamaged glittering still with the life Lance’s desire had given it.

Lance blinked and looked down at the chain around his neck. His eyes welled up and he blinked back tears as he looked back up at him and lifted a hand to touch his cheek. “Keith…” He couldn’t actually stop the tears though, and they slid down his cheeks, clear and pure.

“Hey now. What’s this?” Keith lifted his finger to catch one of those tears, smiling as it shimmered like a captured jewel before he kissed it away.

The tears only seemed to come faster at that. “I can’t help it.” Lance lifted his arm to cover his eyes. “Don’t look, I’m embarrassed.”

“Look at me.” Keith nudged the arm with his wings. Long multitoned feathers spilled around the boy’s neck and shoulders, as fine as hair and as soft as silk, the avian tresses pooled like a welded halo of extravagant metals.

Lance moved his arm down just enough to peek over it, though it still covered the tears on his cheeks. 

“See, isn’t that better?” Keith’s voice was warm with an unyielding patience. “I like seeing your face more than I like looking at your elbow.” Even as he said it, he kissed Lance’s elbow. 

Lance’s ears reddened, and he slowly pulled his arm away from his face. “I don’t know if it’s better. I didn’t want you to see me cry even if I’m the happiest dragon ever.” He shook his head a little and tried to blink back more tears. “But…” He lifted his other hand and slid it over the elbow Keith just kissed, and when he pulled it back, three blue scales sat in his hand. “You should take these…”

“Eh?” Keith blinked wide eyed at the scales then at Lance’s face. 

Lance managed a little smile, still holding out those blue scales. “I…saved them for you the last two times, and I should have given them to you then, but I want to give them to you now, with the new one.”

“You don’t have to! That wasn’t why I did it!” Keith protested. “To me, Seiryuu’s scales are special. They comfort me when I’m away. Even if I don’t remember why.” Keith’s hand came up to rub the smooth blue stone dangling from his ear. It seemed natural to him. A practiced and learned motion that was now idiosyncratic. “Don’t give them to me if I don’t deserve them. Like before.” 

Lance’s tears spilled over again and he just looked at him for a moment, his hand curling closed around the scales. “I didn’t think you did this for me to get me to do this for you.” He spoke softly and sighed. “You’ve never rejected one of my scales before.” He sighed again and slowly pulled away from him to sit up, turning his back to him and opening his hand again, looking down at those three shards of azure. Were they not special because he was giving three to him at once?

Keith watched Lance slip away from him and for the first time he felt the pain of the cold. “I’m not rejecting them.” His hand still rubbed anxiously at the one in his ear. It hurt watching Lance pull the gift away. The tiny adornments were the promises and romantic whispers they shared to protect and comfort even if they were apart. To Keith the scales meant Seiryuu still loved him above all else. They didn’t have to worry about regrets if they were a part of each other. Keith waited decades to earn his trust back. However, time came and went and Keith had disappeared. Then once more upon his return there was nothing given, no adornments granted the lost bird and his heart threatened the crush its way into gut with the weight of one painful thought. Seiryuu didn’t want him anymore. 

When the memory flared into Keith’s mind his eyes widened and he looked up at the dark skinned dragon lord. He remembered. He remembered why he left. He remembered the sorrow of each foot stepped as he slipped out of their home and into the cold of night. He remembered the voices, those taunting horrible voices. 

"Then why did you tell me not to give them to you?” Lance didn’t turn to look at him. He just stared down at the three scales, watching the way his tears dripped against them and slid down the smooth surfaces to the palm of his hand. “You don’t get to decide if I think you deserve it or not…” He sighed and shook his head. “I know I held two back from you, but I saved them. I had them before, but I was scared and angry and didn’t give them to you out of spite because I was hurting. You just gave me a complete feather, so I wanted to give you my complete self. Which includes the two I didn’t give before.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “But you don’t want them.”

“I have. All this time.” Keith’s voice was thinned out. 

Now Lance turned to look over his shoulder at him. “Then why won’t you take them?” He turned and held his hand out to him, brows furrowed. “I’m giving them to you! If you want them, then take them and don’t tell me not to give them to you! You always deserved them! I always wanted you to have them. I was just lashing out because I was hurt.”

Keith lowered his hand, his fingers moving over each of Lance’s knuckles before he touched the scales. He closed his eyes and shuddered.

Lance watched him and kept his hand steady. “I’m sorry I waited so long to give these to you.” He whispered. “I was so moved by you giving me the feather that I just wanted to let you know that all this time, I’ve always loved you. Only you.”

Keith turned his back to Lance. He gathered up the thick black and multicolored locks pulling to one shoulder exposing his neck, Lance’s bite, and his unadorned ear. “Will you?”

Lance shifted his body so he was sitting behind Keith instead of half off the bed. He reached up and touched that ear, his finger sliding along the shell before he lifted the three scales and concentrated so they shaped into a second ear cuff. When it was done, he reached around and hugged Keith from behind, pressing his face into his shoulder and nuzzling a little. Tears still wet his cheeks, but they were no longer the tears of rejection.

An audible shiver left Keith’s lips. His skin still remarkably sensitive after climax. Goose bumps traveled from behind his ear to his neck and over his arm. He tried to hold back the tiny mewl, but the memory of Lance’s passionate touches was too fresh. Even as he shifted his hips, the evidence of the Dragon’s release moved inside him. Instinctively Keith’s hand pressed against his stomach, as the other reached to take Lance’s hand.

Lance lifted his head when he felt Keith shift against him. The way Keith’s body pressed against him, combined with those tiny noises the other man was trying to suppress was enough to stir his desire again. He clutched at Keith’s hand and kissed his shoulder. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

“Nng.” Keith whispered, inclining his neck. “Tell me.” The new cuff shimmered in the dull light of the storage room, each scale changing into a perfect molded sapphire, matching hues to the feathers inside Keith’s furled wings. 

“You make it impossible for me to think about anything but you.” Lance murmured as his kisses trailed along his shoulder and up to his neck, nuzzling there. “You consume my every waking moment.”

“Ah! Nn!” Keith sucked his lower lip between his teeth, inhaling sharply as a wave of pleasure shocked his system. “How can I do that?”

“How can you consume me? You do it easily.” Lance’s tongue came out and slid along his neck, just under that healing wound, careful not to make it worse. “Everything that I am is for you.”

The smaller god’s breath got quicker. “If that’s what I do to you, can you even imagine what happens to me?” Keith whimpered and his hips shifted again moaning as Lance’s essence moved with him. “Nn you’re still inside me…”

“I can. I like imagining it.” Lance grinned against his neck, the hand that wasn’t holding Keith’s slid down to touch his sensitive flesh. “Do you want me to be inside again?”

“Y-es.” Keith’s narrow hips lifted in invitation. The evidence of their desperate encounter still stained the perfect ivory of his inner thighs.

Lance shifted his body, moving his hand from that sensitive flesh to hold Keith’s hip. He shifted enough to position himself and pull his lover down on him, grunting a bit when he filled him.

“A-ah aaah!” Keith’s back bowed forward forcing his head over Lance’s shoulder and his chest out. Without hesitation Keith’s body accepted his lover. It shamelessly twitched and moved without bothering to give Keith even a moment to figure out what was happening.

“Too much?” Lance whispered, his tongue sliding along his neck and up to his ear, moaning into the back of it as his hand held his lover’s hips and his moved.

“It’s so, de-ah!” In this position every thrust Lance made hit the mark only Keith’s male form had ever known. His jaw tightened and his toes curled until he gave in. The change was barely noticeable at first, but as Lance continued to move it became undeniable.

Tension melted from Keith. His eyes were as dark as the center of a burning coal. His lips parted to allow room for the moans and pants which erupted from his mouth as he started to move on his own. His hips finding a rhythm to their grind, the curve of his ass pressing against the caramel skin of his lover’s stomach. His whole body developed a sybaritic motion, right down to how his own fingers slid over his inner thighs then up. As though he were teasing himself.

“You’re my everything.” Lance groaned those words into the back of Keith’s ear, his tongue sliding over the new jewelry and to his lobe. Each movement Keith made only convinced Lance even more that there was no way they could be apart again. And with the way Keith’s soft skin pressed back against his own, Lance was losing himself to those sensations. 

Keith had lost track of time. All he knew was what Lance was giving him and eventually pleasure was too much. In a rush of heat and blind light Keith climaxed again. Stiff and rigid he tensed up around his lover before falling to the bed. He was weak before they started this and now he didn’t know if he could fathom to energy to move a toe much less move from how he sprawled on the bed. His legs were back still partly on Lance. His arms were cocked above his head just as they had fallen while his wings were flattened out. His tail and hair a shimmering mess of feathers, but he couldn’t be bothered to care.

Lance came with him, his cry of pleasure a mix of a growl and a moan. When he finished, and Keith fell off his lap, he shifted and moved, chuckling a little at the messy, disheveled form of his partner. “So too much, then.” He whispered, moving Keith so he was laying more comfortably. He settled down next to him and pulled the smaller man into his arms. “This should be more comfortable, right?”

“Mmmp…” Keith moved however Lance arranged him, his face down in his partner’s chest as he mumbled something that could have sounded like an affirmative. 

“Well, one thing I can say after the last few days,” Keith started after a moment. “We still have an over active sex drive.” Though wasn’t it always like this when they got back together? Their libidos were out of control. The first few days they craved each other, needed to feel the assurance of the other person as much as mortals needed to breath. They suffocated without each other. Starved in the other’s absence. Thirsted unquenchably until they indulged themselves in the fount of other presence. 

“Like that would ever change.” Lance smiled a little and ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, closing his eyes and content with this moment. “I don’t mind it. I’m willing to bet you don’t either.” He continued to play with those raven strands, his smile not wavering, though his brows furrowed for a minute. “Though I suppose we should try to keep ourselves in check for our little road trip, hm?”

“Think that would actually work?” Keith arched an effective brow at Lance.

“I think we could at least behave while I’m driving, or we can always pull over.” Lance grinned.

“Pulling over? Hmm I’ve never done that in car.” Keith smirked without opening his eyes as his weight settled into Lance. 

“Well, me neither. We didn’t have cars back then.” Lance nuzzled his hair. “We can do that if you want, but for now we should sleep.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Might be problematic with the wings…and stu…f…” Keith yawned breaking up the sentence.

“Just rest.” Lance smiled a little at the way Keith’s voice grew softer the sleepier he became. He nuzzled his hair again and held the smaller man a little closer, kissing the top of his head as though that would be enough to soothe him to sleep. And once Keith’s breathing evened out, Lance was able to close his eyes and relax. They both had a really long, exhausting day, and there would be plenty more tiring days in the weeks to come. He wanted to cherish this peaceful moment while he could.


	5. Did I See that Right?

Keith stared out the window watching the miles stretch by. He nibbled his nails anxiously as another corn field turned into a soy field, which turned into a wheat field, then turned briefly into cows. At least that part was okay. Keith liked cows. They were kind of like hippos, and who didn’t like hippos? He felt bad for the cows still outside though. It was freezing, even in the midday sun. Then again, there was a bit of envy too. For the last few hours he’d been burning up. To top it off, a lifetime of needs crashed down on him and he was making a pest of himself to Lance. They stopped for drinks, they stopped for food, they stopped so he could go to the bathroom, and they stopped so Keith could stretch out his legs. He wasn’t tall by today’s standards. In fact he was pretty damn short for a guy, but what height he did have was in his legs and they were cramped in the Honda’s small passenger seat.

Keith was aching to pull over again. Warm and miserable, he wanted to go outside and lay in the snow, but he wasn’t even sure that would work at this point. He tapped his foot as he dropped his finger nails from his lips and looked over at Lance. Sweet beautiful Lance. Dark skin, soft hair, ocean blue eyes. He looked out of place with the backdrop of pure white snow and gray skies. He belonged on a beach, soaking in the sun, drinking a… what? What would Lance drink? He had a sweet tooth so maybe a strawberry mojito. His bronze flesh glistening with sweat or oil as he laid poolside. That’s the lifestyle Lance deserved. He was too good to him. Keith never felt like he lived up what Lance wanted from him. Lance placed him so high on a pedestal Keith ended up competing with himself for perfection. Nothing new. Everyone seemed to fall into that habit with him. He should be good at something so he had to be good at it. He shrugged certain expectations off, but he wanted to be perfect for Lance. Even if it fought with who he was. The duality in his own personality caused the bird god the highest anxiety.

He wanted independence, but he caved under Lance’s most subtle of calls. Sometimes he needed some air, time to breathe, but he was afraid to wander too far. What if he forgot how to get back? Forgot who he was? Forgot Lance? Would Lance let him go again or would he come after him right away? No he didn’t want that. Not again. Not ever again. He loved Lance too much. He needed Lance too much.

Keith watched how Lance would look over and smile at him from time to time, and this time their eyes met, and Keith felt that fire build hotter just as the Dragon god looked away. Since last night the fire didn’t die down, it roiled and bubbled inside of him and flared up with every one of Lance’s small glances. Keith licked his lips, shifting again in his chair to turn and slouch a little more. That scent came back, something that caught his nose and made it twitch, and he sneezed, feeling the burn of those angry red scratches still on his neck.

Lance had been trying to ignore it the entire drive. He first noticed it when they stopped for drinks. Keith was giving off a very subtle, yet completely enticing scent. No one else noticed it, which was good, or he was sure everyone at each of the stops would have looked at his lover with desire, which of course would have set off his jealousy and possessive nature. It was a familiar scent, one Lance should know well. One that ebbed and flowed over time and brought with it the dragon’s need to hoard his lover away from the prying eyes of others. And so as that scent started to strengthen, he kept glancing over at Keith and smiling at him. Was he bored? Was he uncomfortable? Even though Keith was a smaller man than Lance was, he seemed much more antsy in his car. Was something wrong?

When he noticed Keith slouching and shifting, the pale skin of his cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink, he wondered if it was simple discomfort. “Are you okay?” He murmured as he pulled into the right lane. If Keith needed to stop again and stretch, Lance would be happy to oblige.

A pale hand slid against Lance’s thigh, deceptively strong fingers gripping the fabric of Lance’s jeans. Keith leaned a little more, the flush on his cheeks traveling down the back of his neck and making those marks burn darker. He scratched them with his other hand as he turned those endless eyes on Lance. They were so dark and so wanting, and he wasn’t even aware of their own power to seduce. “I want to pull over.” His hand moved further up Lance’s thigh then shifted in to squeeze gently. “Where’s the next rest stop?” Keith didn’t need a rest stop, he didn’t care where they pulled over, Lance seemed a be more civilized in those matters.

Lance wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. It took all of his willpower not to jerk the steering wheel when Keith’s hand traversed up his thigh and between his legs. He let out a very soft whimper of a moan, his eyes staying on the road, but his cheeks flushing darkly. “O…Okay. Let…me get to the next exit.” He managed, swallowing almost audibly. So this explained the scent. Keith was hot. Keith wanted to do it. Lance certainly wouldn’t complain.

“I’m sorry.” The smaller man whispered as he moved his hand. He didn’t know what he was sorry about, but he was feeling a little abnormal. Sure they joked about their libidos being crazy at this time, but this went beyond that. Keith felt like if he didn’t give into the urge he felt, it was going to hurt, or it would take over. Keith didn’t want that. He didn’t want to lose control of himself. That thought alone terrified him, but Lance was next to him. Lance understood and wouldn’t judge him. Heck, Lance was probably grateful for it. “I love you.” He whispered as his hand moved slowly against Lance’s leanly muscled thigh. “You know that right?”

“First, please don’t ever apologize for wanting to have sex with me.” Lance chuckled a little as he pulled off the highway and glanced around for a secluded place to tuck the car away. They were too out in the middle of nowhere to make it to something other than a rundown motel. “Second, I do know you love me. I love you too.” He patted the hand that Keith had on his thigh and he smiled as he found a small little dead-end dirt road that slipped between some trees. It was probably a place where hunters parked before trudging into the woods. So he pulled off to the side and stopped the car, turning his head to look at Keith, smiling. “Is this okay?”

Keith laid his cheek against the back of his seat and watched Lance. He didn’t even notice his own smile creeping up to his face, or how his nose scrunched up with his own rare laugh. Keith knew his feelings for his partner went beyond the carnal, but once in a while, an excited spike of boyish giddiness reminded him how deep his emotions ran. His heart held on to something so pure and innocent nothing could touch it. No matter what he went through, no matter how many trials and separations Keith was going to be forced on, nothing could take that away from him.

When Lance put the car into park, Keith slid his lithe frame across the center console and over Lance’s lap. “This is perfect.” He whispered as he cupped the man’s cheeks, his fingers moving gently under his sea blue eyes.

Lance looked up at his lover and smiled. His hands came to rest on Keith’s hips, rubbing slowly, gently, as though to soothe some part of him that was actually a little nervous. He didn’t know why he felt that slight spike when Keith climbed onto his lap. Was it because they had never done it in a car before? Was it because whatever was making Keith hot and bothered was affecting him too? Was it because they were technically out in public, even though there was no one for miles?

“Is it?” He asked, his voice a whisper as he leaned up to kiss those soft lips. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest, beating with such power that he was sure Keith could hear it. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” He whispered, his hands slowly sliding up and under Keith’s shirt, fingers dancing lightly over the warm skin under the clothing.

“Nnng. You always tell me.” Keith whispered as he kissed his lips then his jaw, keeping his caress light, teasing Lance’s skin and licking at the goose bumps that rose up. “You can tell me again. Out here, no one can hear you call another guy beautiful.” He smirked nuzzling where his lips had stopped to offer Lance a shuddering of his own breath, followed by a gasp and then a squeak, and he crunched himself in closer, body squirming a little more. “Ack! Nng.. it.. tickles!?” Keith laughed through clenched teeth. That was a new development! He hadn’t been like that before. At least he didn’t think he had, but as he questioned himself, Keith remembered, in the back of his mind, a moment long ago. Seiryuu was teasing a naked Suzaku who sprawled gluttonously over his bed, wings and all. A few touches to a spot right about his ribs forced the bird to curl into itself in convulsive laughter.

“I will tell you even if people can hear me because you are the most beautiful, radiant creature I have ever met.” Lance whispered, sliding his fingers over those ticklish spots once that laugh left Keith’s throat. The sound was much like wind chimes, gently swaying in an afternoon breeze. Keith’s laughter filled Lance with such happiness that he almost couldn’t contain himself. “Oh, so you remember hm?” He kissed his jaw. “Keep squirming against me, Keith…” He half groaned.

“Mng!” Keith laughed and pressed in more toward Lance, his hips squirming as he tried to escape the tormenting fingers and get closer to their source. His feet kept trying to find purchase in the small space of the FIT’s driver’s side, but there was little room even for his slight frame. It didn’t stop Keith from seeking out Lance’s lips through the laughter or to jerk his legs back when Lance found another area to torment. When he did however, there was a clicking sound followed by a very sudden drop, a dull blinding pain, and Keith was no longer upright. The hole in his jeans had caught on the seat release and dropped the two of them back, the force of the fall knocked their foreheads together, which hurt a hell of a lot!

“Haha.” Keith started as his hand touched the center of his forehead. “Pffft! Haha!” He couldn’t hold it back, he started laughing a real unhindered laugh. It jolted his chest and forced his face to press into Lance his neck. “Of all the...haha! Are you okay?” He managed as he pushed himself up onto his elbow. “I didn’t get you too bad did I?”

“Ow!” Lance couldn’t keep from laughing even as Keith’s hard forehead knocked into his own. “H…How the hell did you manage that?” He reached up to rub his own head for a moment before he lifted Keith’s head so he could check his forehead too. “Yours is red!” He smirked, trying to contain a laugh. But he couldn’t, and even as his body shook with the silliness of it all, Lance leaned up and placed a kiss on that forehead, his hands still on Keith’s cheeks. “Though hearing you laugh makes the headache worth it.”

“Lance…” Keith leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose then down to curve of his chin. “Same here. I was worried that you’d forgotten how.” He didn’t realize he’d missed the sound until just now. Lance had barely let out a chuckle since picking Keith up in that snowy alley. “I’ve always liked your laugh. Even when it annoys me. I still liked it.” He kissed those pale tan lips and smiled. “I’ll have to make sure you have other things to focus on then your headache.”

“Oh? It annoys you?” Lance pouted through the kisses and dropped his hands from Keith’s cheek, only to slide one up the back of his shirt, along his spine. “Then how could you like it if it annoys you?” His other hand rested on Keith’s hip, holding him in steady on his lap. “which is it?”

“Ah…depends on what you’re laughing at. You and.. nnm…” Keith’s back arched to Lance’s touch, his fingers dangerously close to touching the lines down his back, his whole body quivered with the thought. It would be bad if he let his wings out here. “And…Kouryuu… had a weird sense of humor… nnn.”

“Oh? Do you prefer his laugh then?” Lance’s eyes narrowed and he watched Keith’s movements. “Is that why you find mine annoying? Because Kouryuu’s is more to your liking?” A finger slid back down his spine, his eyes flashing a bit as he watched Keith’s movements. There was a very soft growl that seemed to form in the back of his throat. “Or are you just trying to rile me up by saying another dragon’s name when you’re like this with me?”

Keith’s eyes widened at the accusation. “N-no. You know that’s not true. Only you. Always only you.” He lowered his hands to open up his jeans and pull himself out, and he was harder and more strained than he had the right to be this early. Lance had yet to really touch him. “You get me like this.” The scent from earlier was thick and condensed furthering in the small car. Keith was feeling a haze come over his mind but he shook his head.

Keith leaned up, praying for the armrest to support his weight as he pulled his pants down over the curve of his backside, and getting his underwear to come off with it. Sitting back on Lance’s thighs he leaned down, his hair covering half his face in thick black waves that grew slightly longer with his feather-like locks falling over his chest, catching the light and glinting it over the interior of the car as so many tiny mirrors might. “What do you want me to do?”

“Fuck.” Lance watched every movement. Keith wasn’t normally this bold, and so there was no way he was going to let this go to waste. “Fuck, Keith. Do you know what you do to me?” He practically moaned it out as he reached a hand around to touch that hot, hard sex Keith had exposed to him moments before. The touches were gentle, considering his other hand was now trying to undo his own pants and push them down enough to expose himself as well.

Pushing his hand through the safety bar above the door Keith gripped the faux rubber handle. When Lance touched him he pulled, his other arm coming crossed him to grip the rest of it as if that piece of engineering was all that was keeping Keith upright. He looked down at Lance over his crossed arm, and then he started to rock his hips, pumping himself into his hand as if he were thrusting himself into something else. Full lips nuzzled his own forearm and licked the salt from his skin as he panted and moaned Lance’s name with his eyes fighting to stay open.

“Hold…my shoulders instead.” Lance murmured as he finally freed himself from his pants, the fingers on his other hand still moving over Keith’s heated flesh. There was no way he could support Keith’s weight if he was moving without much stability, and the last thing he needed was his lover pressing back against the steering wheel and sounding the horn. “Nnn.. Fuck. Keith…”

“And I’m the eloquent one?” Keith joked as he slipped his arm free of the safety bar and walked his fingers up Lance’s chest. “You are about to do just that, aren’t you?” The hot wetness of Keith’s tongue tailed up the shell of the man’s ear.

Keith’s blood pounded and pulsed with every beat of his heat and the marks on his neck itched. “Soothe them,” he pleaded.

It took Lance a distracted moment to figure out what Keith meant, but when his eyes focused on those red lines, he nodded and leaned in, his tongue slowly tracing each mark in turn. He kept his fingers dancing over Keith’s heat all the while, though he smirked a little as he slowly ran a finger over his tip each time he finished licking along a line. “These?” He whispered after he finished tracing the last one, placing gentle kisses along his neck as if he were about to start over. “Are they soothed, or do you need more?”

Keith twitched and offered up soft whimpers as the two sensations fought for dominance in his body. Like the salve, Lance’s gentle tracing of his tongue eased the burning irritation of the bastard’s touch, while combining with the teasing touch along his sex. Keith’s hips bucked forward, pressing both of their needs together as he moved, thrusting himself against Lance and trapping him between their bodies. The sparks of pleasure startled the young appearing man, his shoulders pushed in as his back bowed, pulling away from Lance’s torturing lips. The blue of his eyes darkened to a near midnight as a corona of soft red flared around the outer edges.

Instinct started to override thought and Keith’s hips kept thrusting, searching for the delicious spark that almost pushed him over the edge. “Lance…” He whimpered his lover’s name.

Each movement of Keith’s hips caused something more than just pleasure to stir in Lance. He groaned, his hand curling around his lover and himself, holding them together so that the friction was greater, and therefore the pleasure more pronounced. But his other hand rested on Keith’s hips, fingers digging into the flesh as he held him there, eyes black, stormy, like a tempest unable to be calmed.

He hadn’t felt this almost dark need in a very long time. Lifetimes ago, even, and while the idea scared him, it also thrilled him. Lance let out a soft growl and focused his eyes on his lover’s neck. One side marred by the five nails of a pudgy bastard who dared to touch what belonged to a dragon and paid grievously for it. The other, two smaller marks, the tell-tell signs of a possessive bite from a man who couldn’t always contain the beast. He moaned at the sight of his claim over Keith and he pushed his own hips up a little.

Obsidian claws danced dangerously over Lance’s flesh, their sharp edges tracing the line of his neck and down his throat before coming back into his hair. Keith’s talons were weapons, a razor’s edge at the end of each fingertip. Hundreds had met their end when they were close enough to see them, and Suzaku would be left standing alone on heaven’s battlefield, his armor caked in all manner of gore and blood dripping in streams from his claws. That was how most people saw Keith. That was what Keith was.

Lance never flinched away from him. Never quailed at the press of his nails, only looked at Keith with unending trust. Lance seemed to think that if Keith cut him, he deserved it somehow. Keith never did anything more than a superficial mark at the highest peak of his is most extreme pleasure. Even now his claws were buried in Lance’s thick hair, fingers pulling and gripping but never once did they cut a single precious thread of his brunet locks.

“La..ance!” Keith moved, grinding harder against his lover, wanting more. The desire raged, and he felt his back burning, his wings wanted to open, wanted to explode with the pleasure Lance was giving him, but he kept them in, and the denial drove his hips down harder and turned his moans into cries.

“Our shirts…” Lance managed between moans, still holding them together, and still holding Keith’s hip. “If we come, our shirts will…” He groaned and arched his back as much as the seat would let him. Feeling Keith’s talons in his hair was almost enough to make him finish, but he was holding out. He wanted them to enjoy it and not rush it. And so he shifted slightly and pulled his hand from Keith’s hip in an attempt to pull up his lover’s shirt, exposing that taut, sexy stomach. “Nnn…”

“We have more.” Even as he protested Keith shifted his shoulders and pulled back his arms whimpering the barest amount when Lance pulled the shirt off his head. “Your turn.” Keith looked at his hands, now free of his lover’s hair and the thought crossing his features was readable to anyone who knew him but in a rare show of restraint, he simply pulled the shirt from him tossing it somewhere in the back seat. “You owe me. I lost some momentum for that…”

“In the trunk. Too far.” Lance moaned and leaned up to kiss him once both of their shirts were tossed into the backseat. His hand was still around their sexes, and so he pushed his hips up a bit to give Keith back some of that precious momentum he complained about losing. “Now you can show me just how good you feel.” He smirked before he gently nipped the sensitive pink flesh of Keith’s lower lip.

“Nng!” Keith fought back a snarl when Lance took control of the situation, and for a brief moment it shocked him he was upset. “Mmph.” He moaned when Lance nipped the swollen skin of his lip. The sensation was the final touch of spice to throw Keith over the edge, he came hard into Lance’s hand groaning and jerking his hips as he left his seed against the dragon’s stomach. His hand, which never made it back to Lance’s hair, kneaded and smeared the white fluid against Lance’s stomach.

Feeling the heat of Keith’s orgasm against his stomach caused Lance’s own to come. His hips bucking up a bit as he finished, the evidence of his pleasure shimmering against Keith’s pale skin. He slowly uncurled his hand from around them as he panted and struggled to catch his breath, his chest heaving, his stomach sucking in when that gentle hand smeared against his skin. “Nnn. Fuck. Keith. You’re so sexy.”

Laughter came from the back of Keith’s throat. Not the chiming music from before, but sweet and thick like pouring honey. “Isn’t that a way to compliment yourself? You trained me, after all. I’m just an excellent student for my perverted teacher.” Amusement glittered in his eyes as he stared down at the sorry state they were both in, but Keith was not yet sated. He needed more, his body wanted more. He felt empty, and the emptiness grew into an overwhelming loneliness. He leaned down so Lance could feel his chest against his along with his desperate squirms.

“I need more, Lance.” Keith pouted, licking at Lance’s chin. “This scent is driving me crazy. It makes me weird.” Helpless, begging, and needy. Those were three rarely expressed sides of Keith, but when they reared, they were an aphrodisiac for Lance, and that was if Keith showed only one. He was hitting the dragon with all three. He was seducing him, enticing him to take actions and risks with Keith he normally wouldn’t take. Like fucking in the middle of a field. “Make it better, Lance. Please, help me.”

“Like I would ever deny you.” Lance whispered and lifted his clean hand to gently push some of Keith’s hair from his face. He smiled and kissed the other man gently, soothingly. He wanted Keith to know he would take care of him. He wanted him to feel loved and cherished, even as his other hand slid down behind him and pushed a finger into him. “Do you feel weird?” He whispered as he moved that finger, slowly, gently. “A bad weird? Or a good weird? And will this make it better?”

Keith nodded his head, his hands gripping Lance’s shoulders when he pushed his finger in. His frame tensed then relaxed. “Strange weird.” Keith turned his forehead into Lance’s neck panting with every move of the intruding digit.

“I feel like I’m losing my mind. Everything is so…” Keith trailed off into a whimper. The blush spreading from his cheeks to his ears then down to his nape, visible through the split of his hair over Keith’s neck.

“Aha!” He cried now, his teeth gripping at Lance’s shoulder but never biting down. Comprehension dawned on him then. The emotions, the sensations, how sensitive he was, the damnable scent even he could pick up on. It happened only a few times before and never once since being banished. The celestial beast Suzaku was in season.

“So…hot?” Lance groaned when he felt those teeth against his shoulder. The passion coming from his lover was almost overwhelming. “Strange.” He felt the surge then. The need to claim Keith and make him his own once again. This went beyond the feeling from the night before when Keith had been scratched. This was something more, something different. It was a rare feeling that seeped into every cell in his body. When was the last time he felt like this? When was the last time Keith’s desire reached him in his very core? He looked at the mop of black hair and half closed his eyes. “Keith…”

All that black tuff of hair had to do was nod. Keith knew Lance realized what was happening seconds after Keith did. It didn’t make sense. There was no purpose for it in the bodies they had now. Keith was physically and mentally a male. Fluid gender switching was not an option, and he’d been like this for too long, effected by all the other chemicals and hormones that came with it. If Keith wanted to fuck something and spread his seed, it would have been different. It would have made sense, or at least more sense. He didn’t want that; his body wasn’t asking for that.

“Nnm…” He moved on Lance’s fingers with a delicate and confused mewl of pleasure.

“You need me.” Lance groaned and kissed the top of his head, nuzzling his nose into his hair. Why this would happen when they were both perpetually trapped in human male bodies was a little beyond his understanding, but all he could think was that they had been apart so long, Keith’s body went into some sort of withdrawal. Maybe that was why Lance had been able to track him down. Maybe it had nothing to do with their temperatures. Keith’s season was approaching, and Lance’s presence gave Keith’s body permission to go over the edge.

“I will give you what you need.” He whispered as he pulled his hand away and shifted so Keith was over him. He slowly lowered his lover onto him, grunting as Keith’s warmth surrounded him.

“Wai.. wait- AH!” Keith’s whole body arched and quivered, forcing the god to dart upright and grip at the ceiling of the Honda. His jaw slacked as the feeling of being filled made the growing heat ebb away. “Aaha…” He shuddered, his hands sliding from the roof through his own hair and across his cheek then all the way down his body until they came to rest on Lance’s stomach. His hips started to roll, and a glassy look came to Keith’s eyes as though he were seeing past everything around him.

Lance groaned when he felt Keith’s hands on his stomach, and as he moved his hips, he focused his eyes on Keith’s face. “Look at me…” He murmured. He lifted one hand from Keith’s hip to hold one of the hands on his stomach, squeezing it gently and pushing his hips up, slowly at first, so as to not overwhelm him more than he already had. “Keith. Look at me.”

“L-lance?” Keith swallowed, awareness coming back to his eyes as he stared down at Lance. “It’s.. Ah…” He leaned forward, gently getting pushed by his lover. Keith moved his hands to brace himself against Lance’s chest.

“Yes. That’s it.” Lance continued to hold Keith’s hand even as it moved up to his chest. “See? It’s me.” He smiled and leaned up to kiss him gently. “Focus on me. Focus on being loved.” He whispered as his hips moved. While he wanted to possess Keith, now was the time for reassurance, not possessiveness.

Keith nodded his head, his eyes getting clearer as Lance kept talking. When he kissed him, Keith didn’t close his eyes, his brow furrowed and he nodded his head again. “It’s you.” His hand touched Lance’s lips with trembling fingers. “Keep talking…” He whispered against those very fingers. “Please.”

“It is me.” Lance kissed the finger at his lips, incidentally kissing Keith as well. He held the other hand on his chest, squeezing it gently as his hips moved. “I love you. I will do anything for you. I am yours and you are mine.” He breathed the words, doing his best to keep speaking even as the moans built in his throat.

“Ah. Nnm,” Keith whimpered against Lance’s lips, his finger slipping away to wrap that arm around his neck and to pull him up to a sitting position against him. “I…” His words were never above a whisper even as his hips started to work faster. “Lan-ance. La-nc-ce…” Each syllable of the dragon’s name was broken into a moan as the boy tried to speak.

“That’s it.” Lance murmured and kissed him, letting Keith set the pace. “Keep saying my name.” He groaned a little between the words. “Keep…looking at me.”

“Ah-ah. Lance.” Keith repeated his name again and again, his forehead against Lance’s, their eyes locked on to each other’s. Keith kept moving and found Lance’s rhythm. It was slow, painfully slow, but it felt so good. They had been nothing but passion and heat since the second they met. Now, in the front seat of a blue Honda FIT, Keith remembered what it felt like to make love to this man. To feel him move, as his body welcomed each thrust. He remembered the sweet agony of slow desire as it burned inside. Keith’s heat wasn’t always about lust and clumsy desperate passion. It was knowing who was with him. Knowing who loved him. Knowing he was with the one person who would never let him go. Lance’s slow deep thrusts were more erotic than a life time of high class hotel rooms or tiny makeshift storage room apartments. He saw in slow motion how his dragon moved to please him, the way his muscles tensed and flexed under the velvet flesh of his abs. He saw the strain of Lance’s reserve all the way up to the vein pulsing at his temple.

Maybe he would have been better off making love to Keith in a bed, in that nice hotel room in Minneapolis, or at his home in Arizona. Maybe it would have been more romantic. But in this moment, nothing existed except Keith. And although Seiryuu’s desires are what got them banished in the first place, Suzaku stayed with him. Suzaku insisted on being punished with him. Suzaku shared the curse with him and made it his own as well. Lance would do his best to make it up to him, even if it took thousands of years.

And this time he kept his thrusts slow, but deep. Gentle, but passionate. He held his lover close, he kissed his lips and looked into those smoldering eyes. He watched the way sweat gathered at Keith’s hairline, and how a drop slowly slid down his temple. The way his jaw quivered with each shaking breath. This was his love. His life. Lance moaned and shifted his body, moving in all of the ways he could to bring Keith the most pleasure as possible in such a cramped space. And during all of it, something tugged at the corners of his mind. Some memory lost. Feathers and scales intertwining in passion, in love. He grasped at it, but before he could catch hold, it was gone, replaced with the face of ecstasy before him.

Tears, unfamiliar and hot, pooled in Keith’s eyes before they spilled down his cheeks. Every drop was more of his pain and his loneliness falling away. Every bad memory, hateful moment, and cursed encounter faded until they were just that. Memories. They couldn’t hurt him anymore, they couldn’t chase him down and find him in nightmares. Four-hundred years’ worth of unending suffering meant nothing in the wake of this moment. He’d been here before, he’d felt this before, this act where their hearts were beating as one soul, one god with the strength to ravage heaven and hell if it meant staying whole forever.

Keith arched his head back, the tears falling to his shoulders as he closed his eyes tightly, coming with a quiet, desperate whimper. Lance gave him his final push, spilling into him the power of life and making the small god shiver as he accepted it.

“Why are you crying?” Lance’s brows furrowed, but he didn’t stop his movements, and it didn’t prevent him from climaxing. He did his best to keep his hips from thrusting wildly as his body fell over that edge, and he sank back into the seat as he came down from that high. Gentle fingers lifted to Keith’s cheek, touching those tears and brushing them away. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Keith turned into his fingers. “No. You didn’t hurt me, I’m… I’m pretty sure you saved me.”

Lance blinked, but he leaned forward and licked some of those tears. “From what?”

“What you always save me from.”

“I’m not sure I save you from anything…” Lance shook his head and carefully shifted himself so he pulled out of him.

“Myself.” Keith leaned his head in and moved his lips against Lance’s jaw as he spoke. “You’re always saving me from myself.”

“Well, if you’re that dangerous to yourself, I will keep doing it.” Lance murmured and wrapped his arms around him. “As much as you need.”

“You hadn’t noticed?” Keith laughed dryly, laying his head against Lance’s shoulder, shivering at the feel of him. His taste. His scent. All of it still clinging to every part of Keith. “I’ll always need you. Especially now. Of all times, my body had to do this to us.”

“I never thought you were dangerous to yourself, no. I don’t think you needing me is dangerous. I think you being away from me during this time is.” Lance shook his head a little and rubbed his back gently. “I won’t let you leave my side.”

“But why? It won’t do anything. I can’t have a kid. I don’t understand why this would happen. Even if it could make me insane enough to sleep with a woman, hypothetically!” Keith added sharply to cut out any ideas before they could hatch in Lance’s brain. “It wouldn’t do anything. They made sure of that. So why after all this time would it make me… do you think…” Keith blinked his wide eyes at a thought which entered his head. “How DID you find me?”

“It’s because it might make you insane enough to sleep with anyone else.” Lance shook his head. “I don’t know how I found you. I know that my body felt a pull, and I followed it.” He held him closer and kissed his cheek.

“I wouldn’t. Ever.” Keith curled into Lance. “You followed a pull toward me.” That was nothing new. They had said as much to each other their first night.

Keith sighed and turned his head to see through the moon roof. “It’s night.” His fingers made idle circles on Lance’s stomach noticing the lonely howl of the winter wind. It had been so long since he heard the peaceful sounds of a nature filled night.

“It is. It would be better if we didn’t try to drive.” Lance smiled and watched him. “There are blankets in the back, and tissues in the glovebox.”

“No, you’re right. This is nice for now.” Keith lifted himself enough to reach for the corner of a blanket and pull it out with a mild bit of effort. “Are you comfortable?” He finally asked after pulling the blanket around them both. Lance got the raw end of the deal if he wanted to stay here. Keith was comfortable laying on him, but Lance… well Lance might have a seat belt jabbed into his back all night.

“I will be when I wipe us clean.” Lance reached for the glovebox and opened it, pulling the tissues out so he could clean them even if Keith had put the blanket over them already. “There. Much better.” He nuzzled Keith’s cheeks and smiled.

“Well that takes care of some of it.” Keith grinned lazily as he looked back up into the sky. “It’s so clear here.”

“It is. It’s nice isn’t it? When you’re in a city, you miss a lot of this.” Lance shook his head and closed his eyes.

“Yeah.” Keith cuddled his shoulders back against Lance’s chest as he stared up at the stars. “It’s where we were born. First Genbu, then Kouryuu, Suzaku, Seiryuu, and Byakko.” A sad smile curled his lips. If things went the way they planned, Keith would get to see all of them soon. He missed them. For centuries he avoided looking at the evening sky. The unending expanse never failed to make the god feel crippling levels of loneliness. The other four gods were his kin, made of the same ilk as the two of them. Five parts to a whole, though he wondered what aspect of them made Keith and Lance so different? Though were they? The others were just as rebellious as they were, without the flare of course.

“Yeah.” Lance watched Keith more than he looked up at the stars. He had lived his whole human life under the stars. First in China, on the farm with Kaitiao. So many years in the countryside, watching those stars for any indication of his lover’s return. Then over the ocean, to the Caribbean. First the smaller islands, where Spain, France, and England eventually would wrestle for control. Then Cuba. He must have spent at least a hundred years there, living on the coast, soaking in the sun in Suzaku’s absence and letting the warm waters wash his tears away. The stars were his only comfort there.

And they were his only comfort when Lance ended up in the Americas. The wild lands that would become Florida, Louisiana, Texas. Down throughout Mexico and back up until he ended up in the deserts of Arizona. He traveled with the native peoples there, the Navajo especially. It was with them that he felt most comfortable. Among people who understood the timelessness of the spirits and the stars. Among the elders who saw something in him that the younger generations didn’t see, who believed their ancestors that Lance was a timeless one. The stars seemed to shine the brightest there. He vowed he would take Keith.

“We will find them.” Lance whispered and nuzzled his lips into Keith’s hair. “Or they will find us.”

\-----

The scent of cedar and oak hit Keith as he stepped into the room. He took a cautious glance around the small cabin and then got a jolt forward as the spring-loaded door smacked him in the back. He didn’t understand it, but Lance planned their night here, and Keith wasn’t going to complain. He had every right to be concerned given Keith’s condition, and it left Keith very little room to argue. Though a night in a nice cabin in the middle of the woods at the base of the Garden of the Gods was too ironic for Keith not to get a bit of humor out of it. Lance seemed amused by the concept the moment he picked up a Welcome to Colorado map at the rest area.

Keith googled it immediately and was taken in by the images of sunsets backdropping jagged rocks jutting through the snow covered landscape. Their rust colored peaks standing in bold contrast to the sterile white. The scenery reminded him of the southern reaches of China, his territory, and the land that blessed him with vermillion hues. Snow didn’t fall often outside of the mountains, but the juxtaposition he found here made him a touch homesick. Keith missed his shrine. He missed the open-air palace and it’s wafting breezes, but he never regretted the choices he made.

As he walked through the room his hand glided over lacquered pale wood counter tops, his nails finding a knot in the wood to distract himself. A neon green light blinked 12:00 on the microwave and the stove. Keith narrowed his eyes at the glow then moved an empty canister over the microwave at the same time throwing a pot holder over the stove.

The first thing Lance wanted to do after being in the car for so long after that rather passionate bout of sex was take a shower. The little pit stops to eat and stretch weren’t enough to ease his sore muscles, and they hadn’t actually cleaned up beyond using tissues when they spent the night under the stars. Now that his body was more pliant and less likely to freeze into any given position, he was acutely aware of how uncomfortable it was to stay still in such a small space for so long. Not that he minded staying still. He was much better at it than Keith, who needed to fidget and twitch every few minutes, or so it seemed.

He stretched his arms over his head, groaning with every slight crack of his bones. He wasn’t sure he would ever get used to how this human body needed to be readjusted every so often. But he could get used to hot showers relaxing his muscles. He looked at Keith, hiding a smirk at the way the other man didn’t bother with the blinking clocks and just hid the offensive numbers. “I’m going to shower. Do you want to come with me? I’ll behave.”

“Am I being punished already?” Keith grinned over his shoulder as he shrugged off his light jacket. He wore it more for aesthetic than for purpose, but it was getting too warm to wear, and as he felt Lance’s eyes on him, the heat inside him ignited.

“Well, no. Why would I do that?” Lance shook his head a little and watched the way Keith’s shoulders moved as he took off his jacket. “I just thought you might be tired from the drive.”

“I’m a bit stiff. Do you think they have a masseuse in this resort?” Keith teased knowing full well it would irk Lance.

“Now who’s being punished?” Lance frowned just slightly. He knew Keith was teasing him on purpose, given the slight smirk that curved the other man’s lips, but he couldn’t help be a little irked by the comment. “I guess you don’t want one from me then? Fine.” He shook his head and headed towards the bathroom, dropping his shirt along the way.

Keith chased after him and nuzzled his shoulder. “Are you offering?”

“I don’t know. It sounds like you want one from someone else.” Lance stepped out of his pants as he took another step towards the bathroom, though he didn’t move so quickly that he’d really pull away from Keith. He very easily could have given in at that nuzzle, but he couldn’t let himself just yet.

“But I like your hands.” Keith pouted making sure Lance could feel the lower lip against his shoulder. “Didn’t I show that earlier?”

“Well, I do know your body better than anyone.” Lance murmured. At least now, with Keith pouting, he felt they were even in the teasing, so he turned, careful of Keith’s face, and he smiled at him. “If you really want me to, I will. I just really need to shower first because I feel gross and sore.”

“Okay. We can do that.” Keith nuzzled him before letting go, walking in front of him with a taunting sway to his hip before he blinked. “Right, we’re being good this time?”

“Well, if you want a massage after, we need to not exert all our energy now, or I won’t be able to give you a good one.” Lance chuckled a little and finished undressing, walking to the shower, though he slid his hand down over Keith’s bum as he walked past him. “Unless you’d rather not have one?”

“Anything you want.” Keith shrugged following Lance into the bathroom. The room was small with only a shower, toilet, and a sink. The complimentary bottles and little soaps were all displayed beside the vanity in packaging proudly stating words like biodegradable, recycled, and environment. Keith shook his head. Science meant so little to the world of the Gods. When reality didn’t matter, then matter was without science. It kept the human mind busy though. Explained the unexplainable, sometimes they were right. Sometimes in the absence of a god the theories were true. The human mind, once so accepting of the supernatural, would break at the visible appearance of any one of them.

Keith fingered the waxy edge of a wrapped soap. Life was strange. In Keith’s four hundred years alone, humans went from burning witches at the stake to melting whole cities from the sky. Terrifying creatures. Keith suppressed a shudder before removing his shirt the chains and buckles on his jeans clinking as they too fell to the floor.

“I want you to be happy and relaxed.” Lance said quietly as he started the water and stuck his hand in the stream to test the temperature. Keith had gone silent as he sometimes did during their long drive, and he had kinda gotten used to it. But those long silences usually meant Lance’s thoughts would wander to things he didn’t want to think about. He had been stuck with himself for hundreds of years. He didn’t want to think about those things anymore.

“Do you want me to cool the water down, or is warm okay for you?” He glanced over his shoulder at Keith and tried to offer a little smile.

“Huh?” Keith blinked up at Lance and all the worries in his mind faded away. “I’m okay. Hot water doesn’t bother me since you showed up.” He stepped up to him pressing his face against his shoulder and leaving little kisses down its gentle slope. He sighed, picking up Lance’s scent then blushed when his own broke through. “Whatever temperature you like is fine with me.”

“I just want to relax my back a little.” Lance looked at him. “I’m used to much more padding in the car since I always had so many layers of clothes on.” He lifted his hand to push some of Keith’s hair back, and he smiled gently. “I will cool you down after. I promise.” He kissed him once before he stepped into the shower, and groaned as the hot water hit his back and made some of the soreness fade.

“You could have told me. I can help with that. It’s my fault it’s like that.” Keith got in behind the taller man and laid his hands on the center of his back. A soothing heat spread from the contact and pressed in, traveling up Lance’s spine to his nape then back down to the small of his back. “How’s that?”

Lance moaned as the heat spread through his body “I know you could help, but I didn’t want to bother you with it.” He moaned again and rested his hand on the wall of the shower as his knees grew weak for a moment. “But it feels amazing, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Keith grinned as Lance all but squirmed. It was nice to know that the two of them stood on equal ground when it came to driving the other crazy. “Any time.” He got up on his toes to kiss the back of his head.

Lance turned and smiled a little after the kiss and leaned in to kiss him on the lips instead. “You’re very good to me. I appreciate it, you know.” He kissed him again, grinning a little against his lips. “Even if you tease me too much sometimes.”

Keith chuckled and nuzzled his nose into Lance. “I just wanted to see what you would do. So, massages by paid strangers are out of the question?”

“Well I can’t stop you, but I don’t like it.” Lance pouted a little, his hands coming to rest on Keith’s hips. “What am I supposed to do if someone else makes you feel good?”

“You know, it is more than just sex.” Keith arched a brow. “I know it’s been hot and heavy lately. My fault.” He amended apologetically. “It’s more than just feeling good with you. No one can do to me what you do. Besides, I’ve had sex with a god. How could I ever imagine doing it with anything else?” Keith stuck his tongue out, knowing he was being cheeky.

“Well I didn’t mean you’d just go and have sex with whoever gives you a massage, but I’ve done massage work in Arizona when I was hopping jobs. Guys get hard all the time from it.” Lance kept pouting. “But I can’t stop you from doing what you want. I wouldn’t. I’m not a dickhead.”

Keith’s eye brow arched up and his lips pursed to the side. “You did ‘massage’ work? And guys got hard all the time, huh?” He clicked his tongue against his teeth, folded his arms across his chest, and pouted. Water falling over his eyes didn’t do much to help him try to look pissed, instead it gave him a lost expression.

“I did massage work, and I massaged women because they weren’t afraid of me, and I prefer you.” Lance gently touched his cheek and smiled. “If you’re a little jealous, I’m a little happy. But you honestly have nothing to be jealous of. If any of my clients got turned on by my work, they never said anything, and I never noticed.”

“You massaged women?” Keith’s glare got a little sharper. “Yeah. No. Not better. I’ve been a woman. Like several times. If you remember. It never stopped you.” An audible grinding of teeth was heard over the fall of the water, but Keith let out a long sigh. His arms falling limp to his sides. “I trust you.”

“That didn’t stop me because it was you.” Lance smiled and kissed his cheek, then his jaw. “The only one I’ve been with is you. The only one I will ever be with is you.” He nuzzled his jaw and whispered. “I’m glad you trust me. I trust you too, but I also understand that sometimes that doesn’t stop the jealousy. I’m always jealous when someone even just smiles at you.”

“Nnm.” Keith’s eyes closed as Lance coaxed him, the heat growing inside of him. Lance wanted them to behave, yet he was playing with fire. It was a simple placation but one that Keith fell for every time. Physical contact, soothing touching, gentle words of affirmation, were all things the lonely god craved but his pride prevented him from outright asking for. “Were any of them your type? Did they at least pay you well?”

“No. None of them were my type.” Lance kissed to his lips and smiled. “You’re my only type. You never have to worry about that. But yes, it paid very well, which is the only reason I did it. I often temped at several places, and when it wasn’t construction or lifeguarding, it was massaging. Something that paid well for only a few days of work at a time.”

“Life guard?” Keith blinked and his pout got a little more pronounced. “Mouth to mouth?”

“I never had to do that, no.” Lance kissed his pout. “You’re the only one who’s tasted my lips.”

“Good. Because I think I need a little air right now.” Keith slipped his arms around Lance’s neck. “I’m finding it a little hard to breathe.”

“Are you?” Lance kissed him and smiled against his lips. “Wouldn’t that mean I’d have to let go of you and give you some space?” He had to admit, Keith being this cute and jealous was warming him up, but he did promise to behave.

“Is that so?” Keith’s eyes glittered like lapis jewels. “I happen to know, once you start resuscitation, you can’t stop.”

“Well, you seem to be breathing just fine. Maybe it’s something else you need?” Lance kissed his lips again and whispered. “But I promised to behave so I could give you a massage. Did you change your mind about that?”

“I said that before knowing what traitorous hands you have. Now I’m going to sit there and wonder how many people felt good because of your hands.” Keith sighed woefully. He was only being partly serious, but the thought annoyed him. “So you’ll have to make sure I’m treated special.”

Now it was Lance’s turn to pout. “Traitorous hands?” He slowly let go of the other man and looked at him. “I see.” Ok the jealousy was cute. Now it just felt like Keith resented him, and he could have thrown it back in his face. Instead he pouted. “Do you think I don’t treat you special?”

There was the line. Keith saw it one second, and the next it was 50 yards behind him. “No no.” Keith waved his hand dismissively, throwing in the towel. “I wasn’t serious. I know I’m your moon, your stars, and everything that blazes like the sun. You treat me like I’m special all the time. I was just a bit jealous, but it’s not like I haven’t had to do things for my job.” Keith shrugged his shoulders. Would Lance have a conniption if he knew about sponge baths?

“I don’t want to fight with you.” Lance shook his head and looked at him, pouting. “I don’t mind if you get jealous. You’re actually kind of cute when you are.” He leaned forward so his forehead was against Keith’s. “And I would more than happily put your fears to rest, but I don’t ever actually want to hurt you, you know that don’t you? Just like I know you don’t want to hurt me. Which is why I was annoyed when your handsome hospital friend knew more about you than I did, at least this time around. And it’s also why I can’t help but try to stay as close to you as possible, since I know how well you’ve taken care of patients, and that you’ve formed bonds with so many other people.” He managed a little smile. “But I know you love me, so even if I get jealous, I don’t doubt your feelings for me.”

Keith blinked a little dumbfounded. He instinctively crossed his eyes when Lance leaned against him. “I…” he felt the need to defend himself, but he held the urge in check. “I don’t doubt yours either.”

“So I’m not upset that you were jealous and teasing me. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t actually think I don’t treat you special.” Lance kept his forehead against Keith’s and smiled a little. “Though if you’re worried about my traitorous hands, then you should make sure you give me something to hold.” He rested his hands on Keith’s hips once more.

“Looks like you found something on your own.”

“I suppose I did.” Lance kissed him and pulled him against his chest. “You really were cute when you were pouting though.”

“I’m sure I’m cuter when I do other things. Aren’t I?” Keith grinned. Lance promised to behave, but he didn’t. “Like this?” He lowered down to his knees and leaned in to nuzzle his hip, his eyes finding Lance’s. “You can hold my hair if you want.”

\-----

Lance wasn’t sure how much time had passed when his eyes opened. He tried to behave, but Keith was too persuasive when he was in his season, and there was no way Lance could have stopped himself. But now that he was awake, he felt an unwelcome presence, and he pulled Keith a little closer as he turned his head to look at the one who disrupted his sleep. He knew he locked the door when they settled, so he knew the bleached-blond Asian that sat on the corner of the bed and stared at him was another god. One that wore a fedora un-ironically and didn’t look like a total douchebag. “Nizha…” He frowned.

“You don’t seem surprised to see me.” The man was nonchalant and seemed disappointed. “Oh well.” He leaned forward to set a pillow between his back and the wall then eased into it. When he settled, his blue eyes found Lance’s then dropped to the naked smaller god curled in his arms. The blanket doing very little to suspend imagination, but out of respect Nizha’s attention went back to Lance’s face.

“I ate your brother, of course I’m not surprised.” Lance shifted as if he could hide Keith more than the blankets already did, but he made no other move as he watched the other god. “If you’re here to fight…”

“You’d be dead already.” The tone of his words was so matter of fact there was little room for argument. “Your only chance is curled up,” he sniffed the air. A dark expression came to his face before he shook it away, making it seem disgusted more than anything, “defenseless and useless. To think that used to be the great Suzaku. I’d say you ruined him, but we both know that’s not completely true. The bird still has his claws, but gaining a heart isn’t so bad.”

“My brother got better than he deserved. Probably gave you indigestion though. He always had to have the last word.”

“That’s a pretty shitty thing to say about someone who’s asleep and can’t say anything to defend themselves.” Lance couldn’t stop the low growl that formed in his throat. He knew Nizha was an unrivaled fighter, but he was underestimating the two of them a little wasn’t he? Or at least Lance needed to feel that way. “Well, I won’t say I’m sorry for killing him, but I do wish it hadn’t had to come to that.” He kept his voice level, though his pupils started to change.

“He was a jerk. It was never enough for him even when he became a god.” Nizha shook his head with a rueful sigh. “I should apologize for you having to kill him. My brother dug his own grave, and had been since the day of your sentencing. He never could leave well enough alone.” They both knew exactly what Nizha was referring to, and ‘well enough’ was laying curled up and harmless in Lance’s lap.

“He touched him.” Lance said, keeping his voice soft. “And he tried to lick him. I couldn’t forgive that.” He looked at Nizha. “If you’re not here to kill us, then why are you here?”

Keith shifted in his sleep murmuring something unintelligible. The blanket slid from his chest as he tilted his head more into Lance’s neck before he settled down again. The red marks had faded somewhat, but Keith’s pale skin was unforgiving. In the moonlight the white skin glowed as softly as fresh snow except for the five toxic looking streaks that stretched over the thin column of his neck. Nizha crooked an eyebrow. Funny how protective a group of people can get over a creature who could single handedly take on the whole of Heaven’s generals without batting an eye. Yet here he was, with Seiryuu upset over some scratches. Nizha felt anger for Seiryuu but said nothing until he sighed.

“That’d be something he’d do. The marks will fade in time, but you set something into motion. Something that cannot be undone. Are you aware of that?”

“If anything was set in motion, he did it before I found him.” Lance continued to hold Keith. “But I’m not going to leave him to face it alone.”

“You can’t deter him?”

“You’ve met him. You know how stubborn he is. If I try, he’ll just run off and do it without me.” Lance shook his head. “Once he’s made up his mind, it’s impossible to change it.” He looked at the other god and frowned. “I won’t abandon him… He didn’t abandon me when he could have.”

“He’ll pull you down with him and you’ll both crash and burn. You’re giving the gods a rallying call, and nothing brings a god back to life more than a cause.” If Lance hadn’t known better it seemed like Nizha was pleading with Seiryuu. Something like a soft murmur came from the spent god and even Nizha was compelled to lower his voice. “You won’t pull out of this one. Not as you are. You know that?”

“I pulled him down with me, it’s only right.” Lance sighed and shook his head. “I know. I am very aware of how dangerous it is for us to be as we are right now, but I can’t tell him to stop. I can’t threaten him with an ultimatum. He’s made a decision, and nothing will change that.” He sighed again and stroked Keith’s hair. “Even if I want to.”

Nizha rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I knew a guy once.” He turned his head to stared out the window watching the bare trees sway. “He couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

Lance bowed his head and said nothing to that, he only tried to hold Keith a little closer.

“What is it about him?” Nizha turned back to look at Lance. He watched the way the two gods curled into each other. Dark and pale skin resting peacefully together and intertwined where Keith’s fingers laced into Lance’s. Separates’ of the same whole. Nizha didn’t hate the small bird deity. He was actually very fond of him. They fought together numerous times. They communicated through battle and the dance of the sword. However, Lance was easier to speak to. He had a level head and rarely chased anything impulsively. Until Suzaku. “What pulls you to him so strongly that you’d suffer all of this for him?”

“I really felt nothing worth feeling until I fell for him.” Lance spoke quietly. He knew what Nizha wanted, and he wasn’t sure he could properly articulate a good enough answer, but he would try. “Before then, I was just water. I ebbed and flowed. I rose and sank. I had moments of calm and moments of rage. I just existed. I knew I had a purpose. Which one of us didn’t? But I didn’t care. I brought rains when people prayed for them. I brought fertility to the lands. But I didn’t care.”

He shook his head a little and smiled a small, serene smile. “And then he tried to kill me. We fought. It was amazing. I felt the rush of feeling something worthwhile. I felt like my existence was worth something, even if it was just to be a target. I enjoyed something for the first time. I wanted to keep him from killing me if it meant I could see him again. I smiled for real. I laughed and felt joy. I had never felt that before. And so I went to him, and I asked him to be mine. He will say he claimed me first, but that’s just his ego talking. I chased him. I caught him. I love him.” He stroked some of Keith’s hair back behind his ear. “He is literally my whole existence. When I’m cold, he’s my warmth. When I’m sad, he brings me joy. When I’m angry, he soothes me.” Lance kept his gaze steady at Nizha. “I would suffer a thousand times just to have him by my side. He is my everything.”

Nizha, straight faced as always, watched how Lance stroked through the bird’s hair. “What would Suzaku say about you? Does he feel that strongly for you?”

“He’d probably call me an idiot and say I’m too cocky.” Lance chuckled softly and shook his head. “I know he feels that strongly for me, but the curse we were placed under makes him forget most of the things I remember.” He sighed a little and looked down at Keith. “Still. He would do anything for me, as I would do anything for him. And even though he has to forget, he still feels so strongly for me that his heart finds its way back. We’re both tired of that, though. I don’t want him to leave. He doesn’t want to leave. We need each other, always, and that’s why we need to fix what they’ve done to us.”

The middle brother sighed softly. “I didn’t like what they did to you. I want you to know that.” Nizha got up and sat down closer to the two gods. He smelled of winter and faintly of Hugo Boss. A kind hand cupped Lance’s cheek, the other resting on Keith’s head making sure the motion was as platonic looking as possible. Keith shifted to move away from his hand pressed his face into Lance’s neck. The bird was never one for being touched. Nizha smiled and settled for resting that hand on the pillow instead. “I regret only two things in my life. Being given the curse of living as a god. Then just watching as your gifts were sealed, and his were torn away as if for sport.”

Lance smiled and rested his hand on the one on the cheek, the other moving into Keith’s hair to soothe him. “Do not burden yourself with that. If you had done something, they would have hurt you too, and it’s better that they didn’t. I mean look what they did to him just to hurt me. I will never forgive them for that.”

“That didn’t stop Genbu.” There was a long moment of silence that stretched out between the two men, the space filled in only by Suzaku’s soft breathing. “Genbu. He’ll be waiting for you in Arizona.” Nizha hopped up and slid down the loft ladder.

Lance blinked and went to sit up, but the way Keith was curled around him made him unable to do so. “Eh? What? Hey! Thanks. And Sorry.”

“Consider it a present. The next time we meet it may not be so pleasant.” Nizha walked toward the door and gave Lance one more sad smile over his shoulder, something in is demeanor changed with that glance his face paling a few degrees before he shook it off and stepped out in to the night.

Lance blinked, then sighed and shook his head, pulling Keith closer and nuzzling his hair. So Genbu was in Arizona? Why? Was he there the whole time? He just had so many questions, but he was afraid to know the answers.

Nizha stumbled into the snow, his hand coming up to hold his throat. He felt the cold trickle of sweat run down his neck, his hands trembling. He wasn’t sure what he’d seen staring down at him from the loft bed.Within the darkness and cast in the shadow of the moon, violet burning eyes stared down at him. They were mindless voids of pure malevolence inside Keith’s passive face, his head still tucked under Lance’s jaw. Black glossy obsidian talons peeked out from the edge of the comforter daring the lesser god to do any more than that veiled threat. Nizha removed his hat and pushed his hair under it as he cleared his throat. There was no way the events those two set into motion was going to end well.


	6. Is it Worth the Cost?

Lance hadn’t been able to fall back asleep after his conversation with Nizha. Too many thoughts were frantically swirling around in his head. It wasn’t that what the other god said was much of a surprised. Lance knew that their path of revenge wasn’t going to be an easy one. How could it be? And he had a feeling Keith had already started something when that disgusting Muzha found them. So he wasn’t really shocked. 

Well, except for the fact that the Black Tortoise was in Arizona. That was unexpected and alarming. Why would he be there? Did he know Lance was there? Did he finally blame them for his own punishment, so was out for revenge? Lance had no idea what to think. He was never close with that god, but Keith seemed to be. At least as Suzaku, anyway.

Lance sighed and pulled Keith a little closer in his arms, nuzzling his face into that black hair and focusing on the way the other man breathed peacefully in his sleep. If he could just calm himself down. If he could focus on something good, maybe he could fall asleep again.

“Mm…” Keith’s eyes fluttered open, deep blue and amethyst hues toiling for dominance. “If you force it, it won’t work.” His voice was lethargic with sleep. An undercurrent of controlled need provided a provocative purr. Keith was a ticking time bomb of sexuality and would be for a few days, if history told him anything. 

“Sorry.” Lance whispered into Keith’s hair. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” He made no move to let the other man go. “Go back to sleep.” He pulled his head back to look at him, brows furrowing a little. He wasn’t sure how bad Keith’s libido would be right now, but he didn’t want to push it. Not when they would have to discuss what happened when the smaller man was more awake.

“Well I’m awake.” Keith yawned, his legs stretching out before curling back in to mold around Lance. “I’m okay right now. I won’t bite. Promise.” 

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Lance shook his head and looked at him. “Nizha came while you slept…”

“Nizha?” Keith sobered and sat up. “Here? Nizha came here?”

“Yes. While you slept.” Lance looked at him, but did not move to sit up. He sighed a bit and shook his head. “He came to warn us.”

“Warn us? Given our situation, that’s vague.”

“Well he said something was started that can’t be stopped. That he wasn’t out to hurt us now but he didn’t know if that would change…” Lance sighed. “And he said Shiro is in Arizona…”

“Shiro.” Keith’s head bowed. “Shiro is…” His hand came to his lips, his fingers trembled. They were going to see him again. Really see him. Keith’s last memory of the elder god played in the bird’s mind. 

Strung up, Keith’s arms were spread above him, his legs pulled and bent back to an awkward angle. Sweat, blood, and dirt mixed together in a maddening concoction of itching filth. They’d already torn away one mansion. Ghost. An useless gift. Not worth the trouble caused just to have it pulled away. Or the pain. The ability to know the past did little for him and it didn’t save him now. 

Keith snarled at the black masked torturer and gave a measured glare to all present. He met each of their eyes making sure they knew he would remember every detail of the next few moments. Until he saw Seiryuu. Bound and pushed forward into Suzaku’s sight, the dragon’s state not much different from his own. He looked tired and pale. Blood dripping from his fingers to mix with the dust and clay on the ground. “Seiryuu!” He cried out, trashing against his chains, “What did they do to you!!” The majority of the audience quailed at the sight of the imprisoned god’s rage. The chains around him started to glow red hot, warp, and bend in the heat coming off his body. Something pressed against his back, something warm and fleshy. The object slipped up his spine then around his neck to close his throat. 

Everything stopped. Suzaku froze. The crowd sighing in relief as the bird god started to feel the first press of ‘judgement’s’ fingers into his soul. He felt it seeping into his skin. Cold and painful like a thousand needles switched from a liquid into ice cold metal. It bore into the special manifestation of energy the humans came to call a spirit. Your divine self. It tore the fragile little shell, dove deep with impure and calloused tendrils, and Keith knew. It was happening again, he could see the fear in Seiryuu’s eyes as Suzaku bit back a scream. He didn’t want him to know. He didn’t want Seiryuu to see how they got to him. He could not fight for long, it became too much and a bird’s screech echoed through heaven. That’s when he saw it, the desperate reach of Genbu’s arm over Seiryuu’s eyes followed by Genbu’s own silent cries as they tore his arm away from his body. He didn’t scream. Genbu never screamed.

Lance’s brows furrowed at the look that came to Keith’s face. At the anguish in his eyes, and so he turned his head a little and looked at the wall. “…I don’t know why he’d be there.” He knew there was nothing he could do to keep that feeling at bay. If Keith was remembering something, it was likely triggered by the mention of Nizha or Shiro, and so Lance could not break through that, though he tried.

“Nizha. Nizha must have brought him there. He knew we would be looking for him first. He knows what we need.” Keith sighed. Genbu was the innocent they got caught up in their affair. Genbu knew everything from the start. He warned them. Every step up the way, he warned them. Even so, he also hid them and protected them. He covered Lance’s eyes to once he realized what was happening to Keith. He used his own body to shield Lance, for all the good it did. 

“I don’t know.” Lance’s eyes kept focusing on the wall. He knew they had to find Genbu, but he was kind of hoping it wouldn’t be so soon. Obviously they had to wait until Keith’s body calmed down, but still. He wasn’t ready. Then again, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready to see the one who lost an arm because of him. 

“I don’t know why Nizha would do that…” Another whisper. His eyes closed now. 

“We need to go.” Keith started getting up. “We need to see Shiro. He’ll know how to contact the others. If I show him the notebook…” 

Lance reached out and grabbed his arm, his head turning so he could fix his gaze upon him. “We can’t. Not until your season passes.” 

“That could be days! We might not have that kind of time.” Keith clicked his tongue and arched an eyebrow at Lance’s hand then into his face. “I was around Nizha and he was fine…” It wasn’t that Keith didn’t understand. He knew how possessive Lance was, he, his season influenced him and made his possessiveness far worse. If Shiro saw Keith on the verge of a full on heat? Keith shivered a little at the thought. 

Lance was frowning now. “He wasn’t fine. He was just more disciplined than someone else might be.” There was a slight growl in his words, but he was honestly doing his best to keep his annoyance in check. “Do you want to make me watch someone else touch you? Is that it?” Sure, they each had a mansion back, but Lance’s was essentially useless when it came to combat, and he didn’t have his weapons. Those were back home. And Keith couldn’t fight while he was like this. So they had to be careful. Keith had to understand that, right?

Keith flinched. He wasn’t sure if that was a dig at him or not, but it sure as hell felt like one. He sighed. The worst part, if it was an insult, it wasn’t wrong. “No.” Keith whispered. “I don’t want to make you watch anyone touch me.” The words were heavy handed and the implication turned sour on his tongue. 

Keith sat down on the futon, his eyes out the window staring up at the moon through the warped glass. “I’m sorry I’m like this.”

Lance sighed and shook his head, moving to curl himself around Keith, his head on the other man’s lap, his arm around his waist. “Don’t apologize.” He whispered. “I just meant I’m not strong enough to protect you. If someone finds us and decides to hurt you…” He closed his eyes and tried to force the thought out of his head. “If you really want to go, we can go.”

“What’s the alternative? Can we get a message to him? Maybe he can come to us?” Keith rested his hands in Lance’s hair and soothed his fine locks, letting them curl into his fingers. He was doing all he could to swallow his pride. He had pulled Lance around enough. More and more Keith figured he was being placated. 

“What do you want me to do?” He sighed softly, letting his other questions diet.

“We’ll go, just not today. At least let’s see how bad it gets for you before we make any movements or invite anyone here. We have to go to Arizona anyway, so it would be stupid not to go…” Lance murmured, somewhat comforted by the fingers in his hair, but also a bit wary because Keith was impulsive. He always was. And he knew if they rushed into things, it wouldn’t go well for them. “Besides, Arizona is a big state. We don’t know where he is, or how we’ll find him, so we shouldn’t just rush in there.” He sighed and turned his head a little so he could look up at Keith out of the corner of his eye. “What if it’s a trap?”

“Nizha? Set a trap? Do you think he would?” Keith cocked his head to the side and debated the idea for a while. “He would do something like that, I guess. But to us?” Once someone was granted Keith’s hard earned trust it was impossible for him to waver on that loyalty. 

“I suppose not, but…” Lance closed his eyes and curled into him a bit more. “If it’s not a trap, that’s good. Maybe I’m just worried too much or something.”

“Or, given the circumstances, you’re worried just the right amount?” Keith offered helpfully as he placed his hand on the glass, his fingers reaching up to touch the moon. “A lot of our old friends who are still around might come after us now. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course I’m not okay with that.” Lance murmured and sighed. “But I will do whatever I can to keep you with me. At this point, we don’t have a choice if any of our friends have to come after us.” He sighed again and kept curled around him. “I’d do anything for you.”

Keith closed his eyes and sighed. “I know. You’d do it even if you didn’t think it was the action to take. Is that what you mean?” He continued to play with Lance’s hair. “I know you think you owe me because of what happened. But you don’t. Lance, I want to hear it. What would you do?”

“Well you know how I am. I prefer talking over fighting, just as you prefer fighting over talking. It’s just who we are. But if we have no choice but to fight, I will fight. I hope it won’t come to that, at least with Genbu, Byakko, and Kouryuu. That would be too much for either of our hearts to bear. But if we have to fight Nizha, I won’t like it, but I’ll do it. For you. For us. For everything.” He turned his head to look up at him again. 

“You’ll make me a criminal yet, won’t you?” Keith slipped his hand down to touch Lance’s cheek. “If there was one thing you could do right now. What would be it?”

Lance shook his head and smiled faintly. “The only thing I want to make you is happy.” He turned his head and kissed the fingers at his cheek. “Just because I say I want to do things for you doesn’t mean I’m not doing them for myself too. But right now I want to protect you and keep you safe.” He looked up at him again. “If there was any one thing I could do, it would be to break the curse they placed on us, so you can never leave me again.”

“There you go. Talking like I need a collar and leash.” Keith touched his neck hissing at the red bruising mark Muzha left the other night. “Mabye that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.” 

“What?” Lance looked at him oddly. “How did you get that from what I said?” He sighed and moved one arm from around him and lifted his hand to touch the hand Keith had touching those marks. “Why?”

Keith shrugged his shoulders. “Just a joke. I’m still not very good at them.” He took Lance’s hand and brought to his lips, kissing each finger. He didn’t have to tell Lance having another’s mark on his body annoyed him. 

Lance watched him. “I don’t want to own you, you know.” He whispered with the kisses to his fingertips. “You’re mine, but I would never control you. But I also don’t want anyone else to think they can have you.” He watched him for a moment before he smiled. “Should I get you a ring?”

“A ring?” Keith blinked then looked at his own fingers, smiling. “What kind of ring would you get?”

“A gold wedding band with some inlaid redwood. Sometimes they have grain patterns that kind of remind me of fire. I saw some once online…” Lance smiled a little. Clearly he had been thinking about this for a while, even if he was never sure he’d see his beloved bird again. “If that’s what you’d want.”

“Y-you’ve thought about this.” Wide blue eyes blinked several times accompanied by a growing blush. “You should be careful. Anything else that adorable, and I might lose it.”

“I may have also gotten one for you already, just in case.” Lance looked at him, a blush spreading across his cheeks. 

Keith made a pained sound before he leaned down and hugged Lance’s head to his stomach. “You’re so damn cute! You really got one?!”

Lance yelped when he was pulled against the warm flesh of Keith’s stomach. “O..of course I did!” He whimpered a little and nuzzled into his lover’s hold. “It’s locked in a safe in my house.”

Keith pressed his face into Lance’s hair. It was rare for the god to feel giddy, but when it happened Keith couldn’t contain the butterflies nor the full smile that was boyish and radiant at the same time. “You tell me that and expect me to sit still here? You’re horrible to me!” He snuggled his nose into the brown locks. What could Keith say? Since the dawn of their creation, gods have loved offerings. He was no exception.

Lance chuckled a little and nuzzled into Keith’s stomach. “We can go, but if you get horny in the car, we have to stop so you don’t cause me to crash.” He nuzzled a little more. “If you’re this happy about it, we can go get it.”

“So, no road head.” Keith grinned cheekily. “You always enjoyed it in the carriages though. Too bad.” He teased. “I’ll have to figure something else out.” 

“I don’t want to get distracted, get into an accident, and end up with my dick severed and in your mouth.” Lance chuckled. “We can stop. There are plenty of stops. I’d rather have fun safely than not.”

Keith blinked a few times. “Well that paints an image. Thank you for that. I think I’ll be good now.” 

Lance chuckled and shook his head. “Read it once in a book. Never want to have that happen.” He nuzzled Keith’s stomach again. He then turned his head and grinned up at him. “But if you want to go, we should head out soon. If you’re too warm to go, we should stay here.”

“I’m okay for now. It’s still only the first day, technically. If we go now we’ll be there before the afternoon and you can have your way with me on your own bed.” Keith stuck out his tongue. “But I’ll be fine for now. Will you be able to handle it?”

“Yes.” Lance’s breath shuddered a little at the thought of taking Keith on his bed. “It’ll be late afternoon, but if you can handle it, I can handle it.” He leaned up and kissed him. 

“I was really looking forward to watching the sunset here with you.” Keith’s shoulders slumped remembering all those pictures he found of God’s Garden. “But it will have to be the first thing we do when this is over. We’ll go on a honeymoon.” He chuckled as he tapped Lance’s nose. “Since you got rings and all, why not go all out?” He winked playfully but did start making the first moves to untangle himself from Lance.

“We’ll come back. I promise.” Lance reached up and touched his cheek. “We can stay here as long as you want when we do. We can see so many things together.” He sat up carefully and kissed his cheek, nuzzling a little. “I will give you everything.” 

“When this over…” Keith leaned his head in for the nuzzle and something that sounded uniquely like coo mixed with a purr escaped the man’s throat.

“Yes. And forever after.” Lance whispered and kissed his cheek before slowly getting off the bed and holding his hand out to him. “Let’s get ready to go hm?”

Keith hopped down to the ground, not bothering with the ladder. “Way ahead of you.” Grabbing his bag, he took out a few articles of clothing, laying some out for Lance as well. Then he disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door open invitation.

Lance slid down the ladder to join him, chuckling a little even as he stepped into the shower behind him and he started helping him wash his hair. 

Keith smiled to himself as he felt Lance’s hands in his hair, the long fingers moving carefully over every section. Lance was feeling better, and he gave himself a mental clap on the back for it, but instead he hummed something softly a tune he knew from the radio. 

Lance smiled a little, glad that Keith seemed to be feeling better. When he was done washing his hair, he leaned in and kissed the back of his head, hugging him from behind for a moment before he started washing his own hair. “Thank you.” 

“What for?” Keith turned and reached up to help Lance. “I’m just doing what comes naturally.” 

Lance bent down a bit for him. “Well, you’re good at it. And I like hearing you hum. It’s calming.”

“I miss hearing you sing.” Keith placed his hands over Lance’s mouth. “Ah-ha. Not yet or we won’t get out of here.”

Lance blinked at him, then smirked a little behind Keith’s palm, mumbling until the other man pulled his hand away. “Oh? Does my singing turn you on that much?”

“You know it does.” 

“I suppose I do. It’s been so long, I might need a refresher.” Lance grinned. “But I’ll be patient, and I will try not to sing in the car.”

“Good idea.” Keith stepped out of the shower, his body glowing a soft red for just a second before he turned back to Lance. He was dry from head to toe, freshly washed black hair falling in full thick waves against his neck. 

Lance pouted. “Unfair.” He grabbed a towel and started drying himself off. 

“Become a fire god and then you too can have your own built in dryer.” Keith smirked over his shoulder after pulling his hair through the collar of his shirt. “I’ll get your things packed up.”

“Or you can hug me and dry me.” Lance pouted, but since Keith was already dressed, he just shook his head and kept drying off. 

“You know it doesn’t work that way.” Keith laughed. “Not in this body any way. I could, maybe burn you? You wouldn’t like that. I wouldn’t like that…”

“I’d be dry though.” Lance pouted once he finished drying and pulled his clothing on. “Ready?”

Keith shouldered too packs and nodded his head. “Let’s go!”

Lance blinked, but he nodded and checked around once more before he helped him get their stuff to the car, smiling at him as they got settled and he started driving. It was still night, and the moon was still shining brightly, but he knew it couldn’t have been too comfortable for Keith. “I know it’s a little warmer than you’d like.. Sorry about that. You can put on the AC if you want.”

Keith reached out and touched Lance’s hand as it drifted to the dial. “Just take it from me if it gets bad, that’s all I need. Don’t turn on the AC.” He took the slender hand and folded his fingers between his. “This is fine.”

“All right.” Lance smiled, and he remained smiling for a good majority of the drive down to Arizona. He glanced at Keith every so often, but as the sun was just sinking below the horizon, he pulled into the RV park, navigating the maze of roadways until he got to a unit in the back, away from most of the other units. They had been in the car too long, and he needed to get his love inside so he could help him. As it was, Keith’s scent was almost intoxicating, and if they hadn’t been so close, Lance would have pulled over and taken care of it on the side of the road again.

As he pulled up to park in the small driveway and frowned at the red Ford that was parked where he should have been able to park. “The fuck…?” He sighed and glanced over at Keith, parking the car and gently pulling the fabric of his hoodie back so he could kiss his cheek, whispering. “I need to handle something, but I want you to stay in the car. As soon as I’m done, I will make sure you’re fully satisfied.” He kissed him again before he slid out of the car and walked to that pickup, banging lightly on the hood once before he slowly walked back to the bed of it. “Seriously?” He grunted. Of all things Nizha to have meant literally, Shiro being here was it?

Shiro sat up and looked at Lance, a serious expression on his face. One Lance had grown accustomed to, especially before a scolding, but he didn’t have time for that. Not when Keith was waiting for him. “I don’t know why you bothered waiting here,” he said to the older looking man. “But you have to leave. You can come back. Two hours maybe. But you have to go before he gets out of my car.” 

Shiro opened his mouth to protest, or at least to give some sort of sarcastic comment about Lance’s greeting, but as his eyes moved to the small Honda behind the dragon, at the shapeless form of Keith in the front seat, he understood. He hopped out of the truck and rested his real hand on Lance’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I will be back in two hours.” He glanced at the other car again before he hopped into his truck and drove off. 

Lance sighed and walked back to his car, opening the door on Keith’s side and holding his hand out to him. “Let’s go inside.”

Keith unclenched his jaw. He didn’t fight Lance when he was told to stay put, but he did grind his teeth. He knew what the damnable dragon was thinking, and under it all Keith couldn’t blame him. Keith hated the special treatment though. He wasn’t invalid because he was in season. Sure, he wasn’t as effective as normal, but for Keith that wasn’t saying much. He blinked when he saw the red pickup drive off and he caught a glimpse of the driver. “Shiro?”

When the door opened Keith shot up and stumbled into Lance. “That was Shiro. He was here!?” He took the offered hand, straightening to see the fading figure of his mentor’s truck. “Of all times…” It pained Keith. He wanted to see him. He wanted to hug him. He wanted to hear his voice and feel his living heartbeat, but Keith knew why Lance had to do what he’d done. If Shiro saw Keith like this, if Shiro caught his scent while it was this concentrated… Keith pulled his hoodie more around his face to hide his embarrassment at the ideas going through his head.

“I’m really starting to not mind the idea of fighting Nizha…”

“Yes, which is why I needed you to stay in the car. You know that now don’t you?” Lance held his hand and shook his head a little. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.” He kept hold of his hand as he led him to the door of the RV and unlocked it. “I asked him to come back in two hours. Chances are he’ll just drive to another part of the RV park so he’s far enough away.” He murmured. He kept himself as calm as he could in the circumstances, but the truth of the matter was that he was always afraid Keith would one day leave him for the man that just drove off. They had a special bond Lance couldn’t understand, and if Keith was going to abandon him for anyone, it’d be Shiro. 

“Let me take care of you so it won’t be a problem when he comes back.” The dragon murmured as he gently pulled Keith to the bedroom.

\-----

Shiro strummed his fingers on the fold down fiberglass table, his eyes flickering between the two young immortals. They didn’t try to hide what they’d been doing for the last couple hours. The RV was suspiciously spotless with a rouge feather sticking out here and there. How one ended up in the light fixture Shiro didn’t even want to hazard a guess. 

The scent would have given either of them away. It was a gentle coaxing perfume now, like the whisper of a ghost. Being a celestial beast, Shiro was not immune to the allure, nor was he blind to violet eyes offering an unspoken challenge or the subtle ways Suzaku’s body moved and shifted to bring attention to certain remarkable qualities his human form had been gifted with. It was a heady concoction of promised bliss and guaranteed danger. The signals were subconscious and intended for only one person, the rest of the world were just casualties of war. 

Shiro cleared his throat, thankful his relationship with the young god and his respect for his lover gave him a hefty amount of will power. “I’m glad to see you both have made it.”

Warm, loving blue eyes turned to Shiro and in a matter of a breath he found himself in an embrace he hadn’t experienced in over 1000 years. “Suzaku?” Shiro didn’t hide his shock and his eyes darted right to Seiryuu but the ancient god sighed and returned the embrace. 

“I should be saying that to you, after everything we put you through.” The innocent pain in the bird’s voice clutched at Shiro’s heart.

“It was wrong. I knew that. How could I have stayed silent?”

Lance sat at the table, He had both of his hands around a mug of tea, watching the way the steam curled and unfurled as it rose from the hot surface of the beverage. His eyebrow twitched a bit when Keith launched himself at the older-looking man and he gritted his teeth. He just had to keep reminding himself that Suzaku and Genbu were like brothers. That even though it was his deepest fear, Suzaku wouldn’t leave him for the tortoise. So he did his best to control his jealousy. 

When the hug lasted a little too long for his liking, he cleared his throat before taking a sip of his tea. “Nizha told you where I lived, but didn’t tell you where Keith lived?”

Keith stepped away moving back to sit beside his lover, his side pressed against Lance’s. The gesture was for reassurance. Keith knew of Lance’s insecurity when it came to Shiro. They had several discussions and many heated arguments about it while they still lived among the gods, but after they were cast out everything changed. Shiro loved them. Shiro would do anything for them. And he would never hurt them. Lance started to realize, over time, he was included in that umbrella of protection the great turtle god offered. Though instincts were louder than logic at certain times. 

“Nizha told me where to find you. He mentioned that you were heading down here and were probably going to come for me. I figured it was a better idea if I met you here. No sense in you two trucking your chaos across the Midwest just to find me.” Shiro sipped his tea, smiling and picking up the hint of honey that flavored every tea that Keith had ever made. Shiro hated honey in his tea but he’d grown fond of it in the centuries he didn’t have it. “He didn’t tell me where Keith lived. I hadn’t heard or seen either of you since… well then…”

“I knew.” Keith whispered. “I knew where you were. I have you written down in my notebook. You have a dojo in New York. You specialize in teaching amputees and disabled people self-defense.” He looked up at Lance then at Shiro before he staring at the mug in front of him. “I had a whole page on you, but I was too afraid to find you.”

“Why?” Shiro sat up his brow furrowed in concern.

“Because I knew something horrible had happened to you and it was my fault. I couldn’t remember what, because it was a memory with Seiryuu in it, but I knew it was bad.” 

Lance’s jaw set. He was trying so hard not to be annoyed or upset by that new tidbit of information, so he forced himself to swallow it down as he took another long sip of his tea. Even though Keith had tried to reassure him, it wasn’t working as well as he hoped, but he also knew that the negativity rolling inside of him was due mostly to his lover’s season and not any real distrust of either of them.

Though once again, it did sting a little hearing that he was forgotten. Lance sighed and put his mug down. “Well…” he did his best to keep his voice as light as possible. “It saves us the trouble of finding a place to park this thing while trying to navigate a city.” He shook his head a little and stood, stepping away from the table, bringing his mug with him to try to distract himself by washing it in the sink. 

Keith watched Lance get up and his eyes lowered to the table, his shoulders slumped. “Anyway, we want to know, have you heard anything?”

“Heard anything?” Shiro respectfully pretended not to notice the tension in the room. It wasn’t personal, he knew that, but it wasn’t avoidable. “Like?”

“Heaven. The gods that are still there. Yu Di maybe?” Keith swallowed as the words came out of his mouth.

Shiro choked on his tea and looked straight at Lance. “Yu Di? The Jade Emperor? Are you serious? Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Keith sat back on his chair. He hated when Shiro did that. When he looked to Lance as if the immortal had more sense than Keith did. Yes Lance could calm him down, but rarely could anyone change Suzaku’s mind once he set his mind to something.

“You can’t take on Yu Di. He wasn’t even in attendance that day! The Jade Emperor is not someone you should be going after. He doesn’t carry out the law, he just brought on the staff to take care of it.” 

“Who said I want to take on any one?” Keith countered.

“You don’t have to say anything. It’s obvious. You were always horrible at lying and you still are.” Shiro was still looking at Lance. “And you. You’re okay with that?”

Lance put the mug on the drying rack before he walked up behind Keith and rested his hands on his shoulders, squeezing gently to reassure him. “Yes.” He looked at Shiro and nodded his head a little. “All of them need to go.” He murmured, rubbing Keith’s shoulders a little. “All of them who did this to us.” He sighed. “You know it was a stupid law. It was just another way to exert power. Suzaku and I weren’t hurting anyone by loving each other, but then they turned it around and hurt us. You. Countless others just because of some stupid rule that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. He only enforced it on us after what happened to Zhinu. It’s not our fault some mortal took her robe.” He sighed and sank back into the chair next to Keith, taking his hand. 

Keith curled into Lance’s touch, his head nuzzling into Lance’s upper arm as he held his hand tightly. “He might not have been there that day, he might not have even known what was going on. But he upheld the law. He didn’t stop it. Shiro, we aren’t doing this out of simple revenge. This isn’t about just us. This is about-“

“Stop. Don’t feed me pretty stories. You’re better than that. Most of heaven didn’t agree with what happened to you to. You can’t march in there and topple it because it’s weak. There needs to be back up systems in place. People to contact. There’s a right and a –“ Shiro looked between the two gods and cocked his head at Keith’s smile.

“That’s why you’re here. You think of the things we wouldn’t. You see the bigger picture, but you’re also not against us doing this.” Keith smiled.

“I’m very against you doing this!” 

“You want to see it happen just as badly as we do!” Keith raised his voice, but still managed to sound respectful.

“My wants don’t matter here.”

“But they do. If your wants didn’t matter, you wouldn’t have come here. We’re not stupid. We know you want us to topple everything that’s wrong with them.” Lance watched Shiro carefully, keeping his expression neutral even as the older god seemed like he was about to protest. 

Shiro’s mouth opened and some sound started, but the way Lance was just staring at him blankly was more unsettling than Keith raising his voice moments before. He sat there, mid-objection when the dragon broke his stare, and the air felt easier to breathe.

“The fact of the matter is that you were hurt by them too, and you did nothing wrong. Trying to protect me from seeing what they were doing to Suzaku was not a crime. It did not break any of their rules. They hurt you because they wanted to break you, too.” Lance shook his head and offered him a smile. It wasn’t the most warm and welcoming one, but there was no real malice behind it. 

“Shiro,” Keith leaned forward his arm coming across the table. “We don’t believe this is something we can do on our own. We need you, and the others.” Keith sighed softly.

“You don’t even know their strength. You don’t know anything about them.” Shiro sighed. If he was going to talk them out of this he needed to appeal to their logic. 

“They don’t know our strength.” Lance’s smile shifted into a frown and he shrugged, sitting back in his chair. “They don’t know what the two of us are capable of.”

“I know they want this.” Keith waved the notebook around then slapped it in the table, pushing it forward with his fingertips. 

“What’s this?” Shiro didn’t move aside from raising an eyebrow. His arms remained crossed over his chest.

“That is what they are after.” Keith replied.

Shiro flipped through the book, his eyes widening. “You’re outing gods?”

“Not outing. Recording so I didn’t forget.”

Shiro’s brows furrowed with the simplicity of that answer, but the weight it carried was not lost on him. “Keith...”

The god bowed his head and looked away, leaning closer to Lance.

Lance gently squeezed Keith’s hand. “If they’re getting angry about that little notebook, when he’s not using that information against them, then they’re weaker than they were, and potentially more desperate to keep their power. But they know by now they can’t just take us down. That’s why they sent Muzha after us. He had one of each of our mansions.” He rested his free hand over his stomach. “They’ve given our stars away because they have no other way to push us down.”

“Muzha?!” Shiro looked at Keith. It was no secret how that man felt about the fire god. He’d never overpower or best him in any manner be it wits or strength but in Keith’s current condition the idea sickened Shiro. 

“I’m okay.” Keith rested his chin in his hand in a relaxed manner. 

“And these?” Shiro pointed to his own neck then reached out a gentle hand to touch Keith’s but thought better of it when he looked at Lance. The northern god wasn’t afraid of Lance, but he had no wish to make trouble between them. He could almost see the invisible tail coil around Keith, possessive and threatening like a rattle snake giving fair warning to trespassers. Shiro pulled his hand back to his side. “That’s why Nizha is involved.”

“Not by his own choice, I’m sure.” Lance shrugged, though he never took his eyes off Shiro. He knew the other man understood with the way he pulled his hand back before he touched Keith. Now was not the time. When Keith’s season was over, sure, but not now. And it wasn’t that he wanted to hurt Shiro, or that he was angry with him, but he knew himself when this happened. “But those…are the reason Muzha is very very dead and will never come back.”

“I see.” Shiro sighed and lowered his eyes. “They won’t stop then. You know that then? Book or not, you’re now in open challenge with the bureaucracy.”

“Yeah, well they struck first.” Keith said. “We go in and hit them hard and fast. It will be over before they know it. I’ve done this kind of thing before.”

“No, not like this. Keith you’re good. You’re very good. Lance is probably the deadliest shot I’ve ever seen, but they will crush you before you get past the gates. The sentries in the inner kingdom are ten of the deadliest creatures. God killers.” Shiro spoke under his hand. “That’s just the beginning. Muzha left marks, these… things will make you wish you were dead.” 

“That’s why we need you, and Byakko and Kouryuu.” Lance shook his head and shifted, letting go of Keith’s hand only to put his arm around his shoulder as though that would stop him from having any rash ideas. “They’ll keep sending others after us, and we’ll keep destroying them. And when some of those others realize they’re being sent to their death by those stupid gods in their opulent palaces…the ones who do nothing but use the rest of us for fodder, more will turn against them.” He looked at Shiro. “You know that as well as I do.”

Shiro grimaced slightly. Lance was right in that respect. Most of heaven hadn’t agreed with the punishments doled on the dragon and the bird, but they had remained silent. If the upper gods started treating everyone else in a similar fashion, there was no telling how many of them would turn against them, or even simply refuse to get involved. “Still…”

“They liked me, Shiro.” Lance looked down, then back up. “I was the nice one. The friendly one that cracked awkward jokes to break the tension, but also the one that would heal anyone who was injured. The one who had everyone’s back when they needed it. And yet you were the only one who stood up for us. Those gods won’t rebel because of any one person. They’re all inherently selfish. They will rebel when they see others punished or killed. They will rebel when they fear that retribution will fall on them. I don’t need them to support us. I need them to get out of our way.”

Keith watched the exchange between the two men, the conversation was going exactly how he figured it would. Shiro normally wouldn’t barge into a fight, he needed a cause. He needed something greater than himself and Lance and Keith’s pride, while enough to ignite a flame, could not stoke the fire. They were extensions of himself, in a sense. Keith pushed up from the table and walked over to the window, the RV was small so if Lance needed a reaffirming touch he only had to reach behind himself. 

“There’s those pretty ideals again.” Shiro started. “Sounds great in practice but when you’re out there, fighting, it takes more than charm to create the havoc you’re asking for. You don’t know what you’re asking for. Talking like that, like you’ll so easily kill everyone they send for you. Your plan alone makes those people fodder. You’ll be no better and we will have to kill everyone they send down for you. The rest of us can’t so easily woo our way into an enemy’s bedroom.” A slam came from the widow cutting Shiro off. The Great Black Tortoise found himself on the dangerous end of Keith’s barbarous glare, his fist against the wall.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Keith folded his arms across his chest. “We’re not getting anywhere with this back and forth you two are doing. Shiro, you are not wrong. This plan could be a suicide mission. We may all die. But with you and the others we have a chance. The only question that should be answered is, ‘Will you fight with us or watch us die?’”

Lance didn’t bother containing the growl that started at the back of his throat. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists a little, and though he was glad Keith got angry at the comment, he wasn’t glad he had to hear it. And he wasn’t exactly thrilled that Keith agreed with Shiro. But he said nothing. He stewed in his anger.

“If you have to fight Nizha?” Shiro sighed the words out despite Lance’s growls. “You do know he holds a mansion, right?” Black eyes danced between the two gods.

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and leaned against the counter. 

“You did know. You knew and… Suzaku… how?” Shiro stood from the table. “He’s a friend. You. Us. We fought together!”

“We had a lot of friends in heaven, Shiro. How many of them stood up for us.” Lance glanced at him, snorting a bit. “Just you.”

“Byakko and Kouryuu?” Shiro challenged. 

Lance shook his head. “They might have helped after…Byakko helped Keith. Kouryuu checked on me. But what did they do when it was happening? We need them. They are our counterparts. I respect and love them as friends. But you know as well as I do that it’s pointless to convince either of us that anyone else aside from the three of you are truly our friends.”

Keith bowed his head. “Nizha has accepted his fate and is doing what he can in his own way. That’s why he guided you here. He could have attacked the other night, but he didn’t.” Keith walked over to Shiro and laid his hand on his shoulder. “He wants you to help us, and you’ve already made your choice to do just that. Haven’t you?”

“Keith.” Shiro cursed the damnable bird in his mind, but Shiro knew he was on board with whole damn thing the moment he packed up his ford pickup and drove to Arizona. He leaned his head forward and rested his forehead against Keith’s chest. “I hate you both, you know that?” He growled with no conviction.

Keith rested his hand on the back of Shiro’s head smiling softly. “No you don’t. Though Lance might try to rip your other arm off if you keep laying on me like that.”

The growl was back and louder this time. “I’ll eat it.” Lance snarled. 

“Try it.” Shiro challenged with a smirk. He was my hatchling before you ever laid eyes on him wyrm.” He looked back up at Keith, still seeing the fledgling god who followed him around ceaselessly and whom he taught to fight. He turned his head to Lance. The dragon was no different, still just a child Shiro taught to shoot and showed him the power of his own ice arrows. “Both of you… alright. I’m in.”

Lance’s eyes narrowed and he pushed up from his chair, his knuckles white from clenching his fist. Shiro’s goading was bad enough, but Keith not stepping away after the quip he made was worse. For this moment, he didn’t care that Shiro agreed to be on their side. He wanted to rip him to shreds and wipe that grin off his face. 

“That’s enough, you should leave before he actually tries.” Keith pulled himself carefully away from Shiro giving him an apologetic smile. He knew Shiro was getting them back for the corner they forced him into. Lance and Keith played unfair and Keith knew that. For Shiro, it was either fight and protect him or do nothing and let them die. Keith said as much. 

“Ah. I’ll see what I can do about getting into contact with the other two. It shouldn’t be too difficult with the buzz around you guys.” Shiro stood up his mechanical arm catching on the chair, making Keith wince and look away. “And I’ll have Pidge rig me up a new one of these.”

Lance held himself back, listening to the exchange, but saying nothing. He just watched them, his fists still clenched.

“Wait for my text. I’ll send word when I’m able.” 

“Thank you Shiro.” Keith opened the door for the older man to leave.

“Don’t. Just don’t thank me.”

“Alright.” Keith whispered and closed the door behind him, looking up at Lance. “Look, you know it’s not like that with us. Right?”

Keith had to have known that Lance’s logical side of his brain was pretty much incapable of any coherent thought when he was like this. He had to know that too many little things had happened tonight for him to just brush it off and accept a casual comment like that. He did, however, slowly unclench his fists to let his blood resume its normal flow in his fingers, and he slowly turned his head to look at Keith. There were so many things he could have said that wouldn’t have helped in anyway, so even though he wanted to snap and make some snarky comment, he just kept his mouth shut and turned to walk back to the bedroom.

Keith sighed when Lance walked past him, his eyes closing as he leaned against the door, his head tilting up toward the ceiling. They had embraced only an hour ago and now it was like this. Keith understood, to a degree but Lance had to understand that Keith was his own person with his own thoughts and feelings and people he cared about, and Shiro was one of them. He knew Lance got uncomfortable of his relationship with the older god, but it wasn’t anything that was going to change. So he let Lance be for now and walked over to kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge and sat down with a huff on one of the benches, his body turned toward the window with his arm stretched over the back of the seat and Keith’s chin resting there. 

Lance was glad his back was to Keith as he walked towards the bedroom because he didn’t want the other man to see him wince when he stayed out in the kitchen. He bowed his head and closed his eyes as he slowly changed out of the clothes he had hastily thrown on an hour before. He pulled out the sweatpants and sweatshirt he usually slept in, and he sat on the small floor space next to the bed, his fingers fumbling with one of the panels on the wall until it popped open. 

He sighed quietly as he looked at the hidden safe, touching the lock before he opened it and pulled a small box from inside. His hands trembled a little as he popped it open and looked at the gold and redwood band inside. 

“...Are you going to leave?” Was that his voice? Was it even loud enough to carry out of the bedroom? Lance had no idea, but he was suddenly feeling very small and very cold.

“Huh?” Keith blinked, his back straightening as he looked down the RV and at the man sitting on the floor of the bedroom. Keith had zoned out while looking at the sprawling desert, and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been just staring until he heard something that could have been a voice come from the bedroom. It seemed unfair, really. Keith was the one that was jilted. All he did was hug someone who was like a father or a brother to him. Has gods Keith didn’t understand the concept, but since his time as he human he did. He knew what Shiro meant to him, so why did Lance have to pervert their relationship into something like that? It irked Keith. It was unfair. Did human lovers get jealous of their significant other’s family members? Yeah Shiro and Keith were a little different, but at the heart of it that’s what it was between them.

“I…know you’re not like that.” There was that small voice again. Lance curled more into himself. His hand closed around the ring and he rested his forehead against the wall, his eyes closing. “I’m just scared.” Keith had no idea did he? All it would take was for their curse to separate them again and make Keith forget him. And if Shiro was back in the picture, what would stop the curse from pushing them together? Keith had no idea how he felt at all. How could he? There was no one who could take Lance away from him. 

Keith watched him for a long moment before he sighed and pushed away from the bench, walking to the bedroom where each step brought him lower to the floor until he was at a crawl, low enough to lay his head on Lance’s lap. “I’m sorry it annoys you. I know I have this problem right now, and it makes things worse. But, I was happy to talk to him again. To see him. Last time I saw him...” Keith couldn’t finish the thought, Lance knew what Keith’s last memory of Shiro was. “And the first time we do we force him to go into this with us.” Keith turned his face into Lance’s thigh. 

Lance rested a shaking hand on Keith’s head. “I…know that. I tried so hard not to let it get to me, but I failed.” He shook his head a little and turned it to look at him. There were so many things he wanted to say to explain it, but he knew Keith wouldn’t understand. He knew it might just make Keith’s anger worse, so he swallowed those words down. “I’m sorry for making you mad.” 

“I’m not. I mean I was, but I’m not right now.” It was the truth. Something about having this contact with Seiryuu eased those negative emotions. The anger dissipated like a drop of rain in the ocean. 

“But I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Lance wasn’t so cold now, though there was still that lingering feeling of fear. “I’m sorry I’m so insecure.”

“Don’t apologize.” Keith whispered. “I feel like I’m always being unfair to you on some level or that I’ve been doing something wrong.” As he spoke Keith touched the exposed skin of Lance’s ankle and the top of his foot, not helping the smile quirking up the corners of his mouth. Lance had cute little toes. 

“You’re not doing anything wrong…what he said got to me in the wrong way.” Lance’s fingers threaded through Keith’s hair. “I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with him. I’ll apologize when I see him again.”

A soft sound akin to that of a trill escaped Keith’s throat. He loved when Lance played with his hair, his slender fingers finding all the right spots and never pulling at the more sensitive tail feather strands. “He understands. Shiro was crabby and trying to get you going, I picked up on it too late. Don’t worry about apologizing to him.” Keith kissed Lance’s thigh through his sweat pants, nuzzling his leg like a spoiled kitten.

“He really got me going.” Lance sighed and continued to play with his hair, encouraged by the nuzzles. “It just felt like he wanted to claim you, and I got too upset about it.” He looked down at Keith and watched the way his head shifted slightly with each movement of Lance’s hand. “And I’m sure he knows how much that bothers me. You know my biggest fear is you forgetting me and finding someone else.”

“I know.” Keith whispered sadly. “I don’t know if it’s physically possible for me to be with anyone other than you.” Keith clutched at Lance’s leg shutting his eyes tightly as if keeping something out. “In 400 years I’ve never willingly had another near me.”

Lance’s hand stopped in his hair and he looked down at Keith. A swirl of so many emotions rushed through him. Anger, sadness, fear, so many things. He took a deep breath and resumed the stroking of Keith’s hair even as the tears slid down his own cheeks. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you…”

Keith’s whole body tensed when Lance stopped petting him, his breath catching. After an eternity and Lance’s reply Keith exhaled. “That’s my line. I just got unlucky a few times. Four-hundred years is a long time. I couldn’t stop everything.” It wasn’t easy to make light of what happened, but Keith couldn’t tolerate Lance blaming himself for something unavoidable.

Lance’s tears continued to fall, dropping off his chin and onto his hand and Keith’s head. “You did nothing wrong. Don’t ever apologize for something like that. Someone else hurt you, that’s not your fault. And if any of them are still alive, I’ll hunt them down and kill them.”

“It hurts to see you cry because of me.” Keith raised his hand to touch Lance’s cheek his fingers catching his tears. “They are just cinders now.”

“I’m not crying because of you, but for you.” Lance turned his hand and kissed his palm. “All dead?”

Keith nodded. “I woke up alone and everything around me was ash. The same thing all three times it’s happened.” Keith sighed touching Lance’s lips. “I assume they were all dead.”

Lance nodded and gently kissed the fingers that touched his lips. “Okay.” He whispered and looked down at him. “And you’re okay now…? Well as okay as you can be?”

“I have you.” 

Lance’s brows furrowed at the answer, but he wasn’t going to push it. Of course he wanted Keith to be okay, but if Keith wasn’t okay, he wasn’t going to make him tell him that either. So he slowly nodded and lowered his hand from his lover’s hair to his cheek, touching it gently. “Always.”

“Then I can survive anything. I wouldn’t be your Suzaku if something like that got me down forever, right?” Keith gave a weak but gentle smile. “Besides there is little humans can do to me that the those jackasses haven’t already done. So in comparison? It’s nothing to be upset over. I just don’t want to lose value to you.”

Tears came from Lance’s eyes again and his fingers trembled as he touched Keith’s cheek. “I’d never feel any less for you. I can only love you more and more, not less.”

“Hey.” Keith got up and pulled himself to sit across Lance’s lap. “Don’t do this. You don’t have to cry for me. I didn’t mean to make you think about painful things.” He kissed at Lance’s tears and leaned his head back against the foot of the bed and he smiled, perfect white teeth showing through petal pink lips. “I’m here right?” He ran his fingers back through the short brown locks, starting at the edge of his face and pushing through to the back of his head before combing them back through the front. “I’m still alive. I can still fight. I’m actually pretty badass. I don’t know if you were paying attention the other day, but I detached a guy’s head from his spine without removing it from his body. With my legs.” Keith kept his fingers combing through his hair. “And then flung the body at another guy crushing him. AND killing another dude with a dagger. So your boyfriend is pretty damn cool.” 

“And according to a reliable source, he’s ‘the most beautiful eloquent creature in all the world. I mean the jury is still out on that last bit, but seeing is believing. 

“But you were in pain….” Lance looked at him before he wrapped his arms around him and held him close. “You’re not supposed to be comforting me. I’m supposed to be comforting you.” He half whined it, shifting to rest his forehead against Keith’s shoulder. He sniffled once before he pulled his head up, the tears still on his cheeks, but they were starting to dry up. “You are pretty badass.” He murmured, his eyes searching Keith’s face. “You’re perfect no matter how you are. I love you no matter how you are. No matter what you do.” He pulled his arms from around Keith and took his lover’s left hand, sliding that gold and redwood ring onto his finger. “No matter what.”

With everything going on, Keith had forgotten all about the ring. He blinked at it for a moment, his eyes lost and trying to figure out what it was. It was a good weight, the smooth metal warmed the moment it touched his skin. Gold with a band of swirling red and deep brown wood trapped inside, it was every bit Keith’s aesthetic. “Lance…” He pulled his hand up and kissed the ring staring into Lance’s eyes. “I don’t have anything for you. But I can make something.” 

“You gave me you. That’s all I need.” Lance smiled when Keith kissed the ring and he felt a bit relieved. “If you’re happy with me, I’m happy.”

“After all this time, after everything, can you really question it?” 

“Well, you’ve suffered so much, so…” Lance looked at him. “That’s obviously not something I wanted for you.”

Keith cocked his head to one side. It was an action he took while contemplating choices and choosing his words carefully. His gaze flittered about the room, never lingering too long on that house plant or this empty photo frame. He instead found the window and once more the moon greeted him with its cold silver light. When he saw Lance again it was as though the blue of his eyes had captured every glittering ray of that light. “Every cruelty of every hand that has ever or had the desire to do me harm is a suffering I will gladly bear.” Keith lifted his chin in proud defiance for any god who dare to listen. “I am Suzaku, god of the southern sky, god of nobility, passion, fertility of the empress and the greatness of her Family line. The Vermillion Bird. The immortal loved one. The reborn and the dead. I am the messenger of the god’s, and he who roots out evil and corruption. Crimson death.”

‘I am guardian of the arc and beloved of Eden. I am Kaitiao a simple Chinese farmer. I am also Keith a war vet, pilot, and a registered nurse. I am the lover of Seiryuu. The chosen mate for the Azure Dragon. And a boy picked up in an alleyway by a wandering vagabond. I am your sun, your moon, your stars and everything else that lights up your world and provides life. Nothing can and will ever change any part of who I am. It can only be added to and nothing can ever be taken away.” Keith kissed Lance gently, his touch feather light as he tilted his jaw up to him. “I am yours. Always.”

Lance listened patiently. He watched the way Keith’s expression changed slightly with each title he went through, and he said nothing for a moment, even after that kiss and declaration that he is Lance’s. The tears from earlier welled up in his eyes again, but he refused to let them fall, blinking them away as best he could before wiping them with the back of his hand. “And you don’t think you’re eloquent.” He murmured before sighing a little and resting his forehead against Keith’s. 

“Though isn’t it a little much to call me a vagabond?” He whispered, his lips twitching into a tiny smile. “Or do you think I’m not noble enough like this?” He motioned to his sweatshirt and sweatpants. Now that he was no longer cold, they seemed a bit excessive, and he would have to change again before bed. Now that Keith was no longer angry with him, anyway. 

“I was being dramatic.” Keith grinned, kissing Lance’s forehead as he stood. “Eloquent? Piiish it took a lot out of me, and now my head hurts, and I’m tired.” Muscles shifted and moved under Keith’s thin T-shirt. Lifting the fabric above his head, he tossed into the hamper. Over the tiger-lean lines of his back, the discolored red stripes burned darker than before. Keith had been keeping his wings tucked away with not even a silhouette of heatwave to outline them. They’d only made a brief appearance earlier before Shiro came, but it was only at his worst moment of control, otherwise they had been tucked away.

Keith looked over his shoulder at Lance, smiling shyly. “Bed then?”

“Okay, but I have to take these off now that you’re here with me.” Lance murmured, still sitting in that small space between the bed and the wall. He shifted and put the panel back before he also stood, tugging that sweatshirt over his head and pushing those pants to his ankles, and as he stepped out of them, he wrapped his arms around Keith from behind and kissed the back of his shoulder. “You can let them out when we lay down. There should be enough room for that, though you can’t really spread them.” 

Keith blushed instantly at the instruction. “If I do… you know how sensitive they can be.”

“I won’t touch them if you don’t want me to.”

“I’d want you to.” Keith whispered, tilting his head to the side to feel more of Lance’s breath against his skin.

“Mm. Yeah? Then we should lay down if you want to do that.” Lance kissed along Keith’s shoulder to his neck, nuzzling his face there.

“Again? Already?” Slowly to either side of them Keith’s brilliant wings grew from his back, slipping Lance between them but never away from his neck. They reached up to stretch stiffly as if they’d been cramped inside a cage that was too small. His hair grew down with metallic slick threads as his tail spilled to the floor. “Nnm… that does feel better, but it’s not like I can walk around like this.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re going to bed.” Lance gently ran a hand along one of his wings before he stepped out from between them and got onto the bed, laying back and looking at him with a grin. “Unless you don’t want to?”

“Nngm!” Keith shuddered, watching Lance a walk away with desperate eyes. When Lance crawled into bed, Keith turned toward him. He looked smaller than usual in the cramped space of the RV’s bedroom but the warm fire and water birthed hues of his colors became backlit by the silver moonlight. It touched upon his feathers and caressed his face and down the abused neck, moving in rippling waves over his wings and pale skin, baring a resemblance of intelligent intent. “Where should I lay?”

“You can lay on me or next to me.” Lance grinned as he watched Keith, his eyes darkening at every subtle shift of light against his lover’s wings. “I won’t mind either way.”

Keith walked toward the bed, resting a knee on it before pulling the rest of his body forward, his wings falling to the sides and his tail slipping next to them in loose curls. “Are you sure about this?” It was funny how somewhere Keith still thought he had a choice over what his body wanted.

“Why wouldn’t I be sure? I love you.” Lance smiled and reached up to touch his cheek. 

Without further reservation Keith leaned into Lance, allowing the dragon to claim his mate as many times as he needed to until they were both sated, at least for the night.


	7. What Happens with Idle Hands?

Keith hunted. Through the winding arched corridors and sandstone brick staircases, he smelled it, and it knew he was here. Keith picked up on the sweet tang of fear, and he was sure the creature sensed the spice of excitement coming off the bird god. Blood perfumed the air around Keith, the people here had little chance against him if they didn’t wish to save themselves. It was always that simple. Anyone who wanted to kill him was fair game and he felt little regret for meeting their challenge. It wasn’t his fault they didn’t know what they were up against, though no one in this compound had long to live anyway. Keith saw the poison in their blood and the broken mash their brains had become. So it went when you were food for a god.

Keith wasn’t expecting his day to go like this, he was bored waiting for Shiro and had been flipping through his notebook when he came across an address that was an hour drive from where Lance had the RV parked. The two of them plotted out on a map where to go, and with a bit of convincing, Keith got Lance come along to a desert hideaway. 

Outside it had been nothing special, a few sand stucco houses in the middle of nowhere. On the surface it appeared to be a commune. A few people wishing to live off the grid, but weren’t afraid to live well while doing so. But like an iceberg, a cursory look under the surface found a compound of winding paths and extravagant rooms. With an hour of research behind him Keith had found evidence of drugs, guns, and sex trafficking.  
Now inside the compound, Keith knew the taste of the corruption as it tainted the air. He found filth in every room. From high end chemistry labs to rooms with chains welded to the walls. Puddles of dark old blood spattered the stone floors of dungeon like cells. Shackles hung from the walls rusting and sharp edged. Keith put one poor woman out of her misery as she was strung up emancipated and alive enough to only feel pain. If Keith hadn’t already desired to snuff this creature out, he certainly didn’t have any reservations now. He just needed to find the pus-filled head of the ulcerous abscess of a god.

“Ahaha! AHAHA! There you arrre.” Keith jumped at with the childish sing song voice, and turned around. A man stood frozen down the hallway. He just stared at him with wide eyes. Then in a second he charged Keith, his pupils crazed. “I fooound yooou!” 

The man wore little more than rags and laughed maniacally, coming at Keith with a poker taken from the fireplace. Keith arched a brow and moved to the side with the ease of a step. He man stumbled over his own feat and turned back at Keith, foam at the corners of his mouth. The poor bastard. Keith hated this god. He kneaded mortal minds with ideas and concepts until they were twisted and broken like how a baker makes the perfect dough to guarantee the cracked loaf. 

“Oooh he said you were quick! He did he did dididid. Yes certainly yes… I will kill you and bring you to him and he will be happy. And it will be good. Oh yes yes it will be good and then I can see it all again… see it I want to see it.” The man stepped closer to Keith. Sandy blond hair falling into puppy brown eyes, sun kissed freckles across his nose spoke of a youth spent in the field or on the beach. Keith sighed softly as the man took his arms, squeezing them until his skin puffed over the top of his fingers. 

“Will you let me see it? You will won’t you? You’re a nice boy. Yes. Very nice. I know. You will let me see it.” Keith watched the man’s eyes, they were dilated and unfocused. The optical organs themselves vibrated within the man’s skull.

“What do you want to see? Tell me about it.” Keith’s head tilted to the side and the man loosened his grip.

“You don’t know? You don’t know? You’ve never seen? Oh! Yes yes of course! That is why… that is why you are here! Yes yes yes… come come then follow follow me and you can see and we can see. It will be good. Yes yes.. come come.”

“Okay.” Keith nodded his head, turning his eyes to a window and raising his hand subtly. 

Lance snarled from his position on one of the roofs of the compound. Keith couldn’t hear it, of course, but he was snarling just the same, pulling his finger away from the trigger of his rifle as he watched the scene unfold through the scope. He wanted to shoot that man’s arms right off his body for touching his Keith, the possessiveness still lingering after the bird’s season. It took a hell of a lot of willpower not to shoot the guy at all, but Keith’s little signal forced him to control his instincts.

So he just watched through the scope, following Keith’s location through windows. He knew his partner would only stop where Lance could see him. He knew Keith knew Lance would just start shooting up the place if he thought Keith was in danger, so he just snarled and waited.

 

Keith followed the poor human as he was lead down flights of stairs and away from the outer rooms. This also meant that he was away from Lance’s line of sight. Well that wasn’t going to bode well. Keith sucked his cheek between his teeth. He wasn’t going to hear the end of this anytime soon.

The lower they ventured into the Arizona compound, the wider the hallway became. All around Keith piping clinked and machinery whirred. Keith sniffed the air noting the fresh dry scent of the desert, figuring the thatch work of metal was a ventilation system. They’d need one in a sprawling underground base like this.

Keith shoved his thumbs into his pockets and continued to follow the bewitched man through another set of doors before coming to a wide cavernous room. It was dark save for a few torches against the side walls. It did little for visibility but certainly helped the aesthetic., if creepy underground rape chamber was what you were going for. Keith’s hair bristled when he saw a shadowed figure slumped on a throne of deep mahogany wood and crushed blue velvet. 

“Evening Tau. The place looks nice.”

The human quivered and looked over his shoulder, rage clouding his eyes. “You dare speak so casually!” He shrieked, the pitch forcing Keith to wince.

 

“Fuck.” Lance lost sight of Keith, which meant this place was a lot bigger, and a lot deeper, than the stucco buildings suggested. He should have just shot that stupid human when he had the chance. Instead, he listened to his lover, and now he was alone. Muttering more curses, Lance pulled up his rifle and slung it across his back, glancing around before hopping down off the roof in a much less graceful manner than Keith would have. He wasn’t nearly as stealthy as his partner, but with the guns at his hips, he could be just as deadly.

So he ran to an open window and jumped through, pressing himself against a wall before slowly walking down the hallway, pistols in hand. Fuck Keith for convincing him to stay out there at first. Lance had no idea where to go aside from the direction he last saw Keith move. He rounded a corner and his nose winkled up. Blood. Lots of blood. Two humans lay sprawled on the floor, their throats slashed. When had Keith done this? It was clearly his handiwork. He stepped over the bodies, careful not to step in the pooling blood as he continued on. 

He heard it then. The broken chatter of someone, or several someones whose minds were mush. He glanced down the hallway and watched them run towards him. Three. Easy. He lifted his guns and shot in quick succession. Pow. Pow. Pow. Thud. Thud. Thud. He clucked his tongue. There was no way that was going to go unnoticed.

 

Keith’s ears quirked up at the sound of gun fire but he never took his eyes off the finely cut figure of the man before him. He was stunningly beautiful; Short cropped black hair, dark bronze skin, fit, and trim. What took away from those looks were wild frantic eyes. They were terrified pin pricks of black. 

“Your game hasn’t changed much.” Keith smiled coolly, stepping over the head of the disembodied human. He didn’t enjoy killing the man, but he didn’t have a choice. He man was going to be a distraction and Keith did him a favor. In a few more hours he would have had an excruciating death. Just like everyone else in this complex, they were all walking death. 

“Neither has yours, Suzaku. I’m not even in your realm! Why are you here!?” Tau yelled at him. “I was at your trial has an invited guest! I barely knew you and the dragon!”

“I know. I’m not here for that.” Keith continued to walk forward with menacing ease.

“Then why!?”

“Why?” Keith flipped a dagger in his hand. Smoke and flame left looping tails in the blades wake, glinting like the fires of judgement in Keith’s eyes. “I just hate you.” 

 

Lance made his way down the flights of stairs, half running. He could smell Keith’s fire now, and so he headed down deeper into the compound, ignoring the machines, barely paying note of the fanatics that seemed to crawl out of the walls to attack him before he put them down. He skidded at the bottom of the stairs and sprinted into that large cavern, barely stopping before he tripped over the body of the lunatic from before. “Sonofabitch.”

Keith turned to Lance with the most curious expression on his face, his arms jerking as he pulled the twin daggers from Tau’s skull, twirling them in his fingers until taking them back into himself, the star kanji glowing brightly on each palm as he did so. “Did you miss me that much? That was a bit of an entrance.” Blood smeared the Asian god’s face marring a perfect ivory complexion. 

Lance blinked, his eyes widening a little. “What the fuck?” He looked at the body that sank to the floor, blood coming from what were the god’s eyes. “Are you okay?” But he couldn’t stop staring at the voided eye sockets, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Keith smiled walking over to Lance, expression frigid. “I think it’s an improvement.”

“I got nervous when I couldn’t see you anymore. Lance snapped out of his stare and looked at him. “We should go. I don’t like this place.”

“Should I burn it?” Keith adjusted his jacket. “Hm, should probably do that any way. Authorities don’t need to know everything that happened here.”

“Yes.” Lance took his hand and started pulling him out of the room. “Burn the whole damn thing.”

Keith went with Lance out of the room, but pulled him further down the hallway into a room that was heavy with the smell of exhaust, oil, and rust. A boiler banged loudly in the back of the shallow space, but machines and environment control panels beeped and blinked to either side of the two gods as they stepped in. “This should work. Once I do this. I’ll have 5 minutes of control and only that. We’ll have to book it. Can ya run?”

“Of course I can run. I ran all the way down here.” Lance puffed out his cheeks as though he was offended by the question, but he remained ready as he watched Keith. 

“Then run like my life depends on it.” Keith smirked as he got up on his toes to kiss Lance’s cheek. The same time his lips made contact, wings of flame burst from Keith’s back. Orange, yellow, and red roiled inside the opening expanse and flared up to the ceiling. It took just seconds for the first chair to catch fire, followed by the table. Fire burned in streaks across the ceiling as Keith’s fanned out. Everything they touched started to get consumed, but slowly. “Ready?” Keith turned to Lance now. The whites of his eyes were gone, eaten up by the void of reflective ink black pupils.

Lance didn’t have to be told twice. He grabbed Keith’s hand and pulled him into his arms, carrying him princess-style as he bolted. He could feel the heat pushing against his back, as though Keith’s flames were helping them, urging them to safety. And as he got to that window used to get in, he helped Keith out of it, only pausing long enough to make sure they were both steady on his feet before he picked him up again and ran him towards the car.

Of all the ways their grand exit could have gone, Keith had to admit he wasn’t expecting to be carried out of there like a distressed damsel. He would have fought and squirmed until Lance put him down but he knew they didn’t have time for childish games. The compound was on fire and he felt the blaze bleed into every corridor of every room. He felt it pick up when it came cross a stash of chemicals or fuel. Until he let go of it, the flames were an extension of himself. He let it slip like water through his mental fingers and watched it flow.

“Wait. What’s that?” Keith’s eyes were still black but the shimmer of them moved about the outdoor space. There was another chamber, one below the room they exited from. Women. A dozen terrified women, choking on the smoke and crying for help as the heat became unbearable. Slaves. Women who still had a full grasp on their mental facilities. Women who were praying to be saved.

Keith panicked. A pulse of energy flew out from him and just like that the flames froze. 

“There’s people! Normal people! Women! Lance we have to get them!” The strain of holding back wild flames showed through Keith’s tensed jaw.

“Okay okay.” Lance put him down and looked in that direction. “Hold the flames. I’ll get them.” Lance pulled his rifle off his back, and sprinted towards that chamber, sliding onto the ground and checking the window. It was small, but not so small that the women couldn’t get out. He smashed the window with the butt of his rifle and knocked out all the glass, letting the smoke out. 

He slid in and threw his jacket on the ground where the glass was, holding his hand out to the women. “I’ll lift you all out. Come on.” 

One by one, Lance lifted each woman and helped her out the window, sweat sliding down his hairline as he helped them. Two left. One left. They were all out. He jumped to pull himself up when an explosion sounded behind him and the room filled with fire. 

Keith felt the explosion as a wave of needles over his body. “No!” He bit into his cheek as he fought to hold it back, fought to control the flames and the heat. “Not in there!” Keith fell heavy to his knees, the impact tossing desert dirt into the air. “Lance!?” Where was he? Through the chaos he couldn’t see him. Like he was trapped within his own smoke screen. 

“Lance!” He cried out again, his voice cracking even as the wings on his back erupted skyward. Each flightless appendage a stiff pressurized flame. Fangs cut down through his bottom teeth as his skin rippled and shone with gold and ruby dust, then flaked. Each flake started to curl and turn black like burning paper. Keith’s normally nibbled down nails were now black taloned claws digging into and scaring the sands, leaving bits of glass in their wake. “FUCK LANCE ANSWER ME!”

There was some coughing and a grunt. “I’m okay!” The voice was small, drowned out by the noises around him. Lance slowly pulled himself out of the window and crawled through the last of the flames until he was free of them. His clothing and his guns were gone, completely burned up and destroyed by the explosion, but his skin was unmarred by the flames, and his hair was completely unsinged. There was a slight sheen to his skin, as though he was enveloped in ice, but by the time he crawled closer to Keith, it was clear it was just his sweat, his essence that had protected his entire body from the flames. He reached his hand out and grabbed Keith’s. “Keith…Keith I’m okay. Stop pushing yourself.” 

Keith turned his head up and looked up to see the women, their eyes focused on the horror in front of them. He cried out through his gritted teeth when Lance’s cold hand touched him. He wanted to yell for him to get away, but there was no time. “I.. I can’t.. any more… It’s too much.” He panted and fell forward. The wings, the talons, the feathers over his shoulders, the molten skin all vanished and the fire raged forward in a crescendo of explosions.

Lance shifted then. His body seemed to shine, and the naked man that had been on the ground, clutching Keith’s hand a moment earlier was now a giant sapphire serpent, coils catching Keith’s body as he fell forward. From that body, a large wave surged, water steaming as it clashed with the fire that moved towards them.

Before the women could even scream, that wave froze and protected all of them from the flames. Lance turned his head towards the women, his eyes seeming to urge them to run. To get away now, while it was safe. His tail came up and curled around Keith, holding him. 

The women clutched at each other, staring at the two men with horror before one shook her head and grabbed the hand of another. “We need to go!” She said. “These gods have saved us. We need to go now.” She started to pull them away, though she looked at Lance and Keith and bowed her head slightly in those last moments before they all ran.

“Mmn.” Keith groaned inside the cold coils. His skin sizzled and popped with steam rising from all the places Lance’s scales touched him. He’d used too much strength, so much it ate into his chi. As a god this wouldn’t be a problem, but as a human his reserves were meager at best. 

“Rest.” Lance’s voice seemed like it came from nowhere, even as his snout gently nuzzled Keith’s head. “I will get you home.” He looked over at the wall of Ice. It would hold long enough for Lance to get them to the car, which was a safe enough distance away. So the scales vanished, and the naked man gathered his lover in his arms and once again carried him, moving a little slower than before, but still moving fast enough to get him into the vehicle. He pulled one of the blankets from the back around himself as he got into the driver’s seat and cursed a bit. 

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately, cursing.” Keith’s weak voice came from curled up bundle in the passenger seat. “Were they safe?”

“Yes. I got them all out.” Lance murmured as his hands held the steering wheel. He didn’t start the car yet, as he wanted to focus himself after that display. “Sleep. I will get you home safe.” He breathed deeply before looking back at the burning compound. The ice wall was gone, having melted, and it had doused enough of the fire so that a thick smoke was rising from it. He started the car and drove away.

“You took form. I didn’t know you could still do that.” Keith looked over at Lance, his tired eyes serious as they sped along the roadless desert. 

“I didn’t either. It really hurt.” Lance clenched the steering wheel. “But I was so desperate to protect you, it just happened.” 

“Oh? How are you?” Keith tried to keep his head up but he was losing strength.

“Well enough to drive. Just sleep.” 

\-----

Keith blinked, and when he opened his eyes again he found himself staring up at the fiber glass stucco ceiling of Lance’s RV. When did they get here? How long had he been out? He sat up, wincing at the burn in his back. “Shit.” His voice sounded rough and dry, his head screaming at him.

“L-lance?” Keith called out, holding his throat. He knew his voice didn’t carry much further than his own ears, but he did hear voices in the living room. Lance was talking? Or bickering? With someone. Shiro? That was Shiro’s voice. He swung his legs around the side of the bed, one of Lance’s shirts falling to his knees. Lance probably hadn’t bothered to dig through Keith’s belongings to find suitable clothing. He cracked open the door a little and listened.

“My text message told the two of you to stay put. Not to go chasing halfcocked across the desert and create a crater in the middle of Arizona!” Shiro yelled but in that way one yells when they know someone is sleeping in the next room. 

Lance’s arms were crossed, his brows furrowed, so his forehead creased in a way that clearly indicated how annoyed he actually was to be lectured. “We didn’t create any crater. A shit-ton of chemicals and drugs did.” Lance’s voice was quiet, but bitter. His fingers were pressing into his skin on his upper arms as if there was an uncomfortable soreness in them, but he was committed to keeping his arms crossed. “You need to lower your voice or you’re going to wake him up.” He was the one facing the bedroom door, so he glanced at Keith when he saw it open, but his expression didn’t change. “You can yell at us both later. Now is not the time.”

Caught, Keith sighed and limped his way into the dining room, staring only at the floor so he didn’t have to see either of their expressions. If there was one thing Keith hated above all else, it was pity. “Good morning.” He whispered getting a glass from the pantry.

“I will yell at both of you, right now. And it IS the time.” Shiro sided as he watched Keith move about the small RV. “Look at you both. What do you think you can do in this condition?” The Northern god sighed. “Was it worth it?”

“Twelve women saved. Three men. And countless others that can never be victims now.” Keith wiped his lips after taking a long drink. “You have to ask me that question?” 

Lance moved only when Keith moved. He uncrossed his arms and went to the small stove, putting a kettle on to make him some tea, since his voice sounded so raw. His face was still scrunched up in annoyance, but he just shook his head as his back was to Shiro. “One of the women knew us.” He said quietly before he shook his head again. “She was Chinese. She knew exactly what we were, and she thanked us.” He looked down at the kettle. “I felt…something in that moment. In all of our time back in China, no one knew us. No one was supposed to know us. But I shifted. She knew. She acknowledged. That gives us something just as important as saving those people.”

“You ‘shifted’?” Shiro asked arching an eyebrow.

“I didn’t try to. It just happened.” Lance shrugged as he watched the kettle. 

“I don’t remember. I just felt him hold me.” Keith walked up behind Lance and nuzzled his shoulder, not giving a care to Shiro watching them from the table. 

“And how did you feel after?”

“When it happened? It hurt like hell. After, sore. My hands feel the worst.” Lance relaxed his expression when Keith nuzzled against his shoulder, and he made him a little tea with honey, putting the mug down on the counter so Keith could grab it when he wanted. “But I suppose that’s because my claws are gone.”

As Shiro contemplated what the younger two were telling him he rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “That’s probably the only part of this that makes any sense.” 

Keith slipped away from Lance, curling around the mug as if he couldn’t get enough of the it warmth. Shiro quirked an eyebrow and reached his flesh hand over to touch the man’s forehead. “You’re cold.” He whispered with paternal concern. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just a little under the weather.”

“Understandable. But still concerning. You went too far. Both of you.” Shiro touched the side of Keith’s face. He didn’t care if Lance was in the room or not. If the dragon couldn’t tell the difference between concern and flirting that wasn’t Shiro’s problem. Suzaku was important to Genbu and the two never felt the need to explain their relationship to anyone. It just was. Lance was with Keith, there wasn’t a question in all of heaven about them. Lance only had to understand there were other people in this world who cared deeply for the two of them.

“Before we do anything, you both need to rest.” Shiro sat back in the chair.

Lance turned and leaned back against the stove as he watched the two of them. His brow twitched a little, but mostly out of jealousy of the concern than anything else. Shiro had already set him off once, he likely wouldn’t do it again. “To be fair, he was resting until you started yelling.” He smirked a little even as he flexed his fingers again.

“Then what’s your excuse for being up? Hard to believe you’d leave any bed if Keith was still in it.” Shiro smirked with an arched brow.

“Someone decided to barge in here while I was sleeping.” Lance stuck his tongue out. “And it was better for me to get up than him, hm?”

“I didn’t barge in. I texted. I heard about an explosion at a certain underground compound, and I wanted to confirm a hunch. Keith can never let people like that go.” 

“Can you blame me?” Keith leaned against Lance’s shoulder. The younger god understood Shiro’s concern. What they did was stupid and left them vulnerable. “He had to be stopped. So, we stopped him.”

“If you had seen it, you would have done the same.” Lance looped an arm around Keith’s waist. “It was really bad…”

“I don’t doubt I would. But in your condition. You guys shouldn’t be taking on demigods much less full fledge deities. Next time just tell me. I can help.” Shiro looked away from the pair as Keith scooped himself into Lance’s side. His face still pale. His lips had lost color, and for the first time since finding him Shiro thought of Suzaku as small. Both of them were just hatchlings. Kids needing constant supervision. He sighed meeting Lance’s eyes. 

 

“Are you two above me grounding you?”

“Do you think either of us would listen if you did?” Lance shook his head a little, looking at Shiro as he held Keith close. “We’ve never been good at listening to you, even if you’re right. And for some reason you don’t hate us.” He smiled a little then. “We didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Yeah. I know but I have to try don’t I? I wouldn’t be a good elder god if I didn’t.”

Keith smiled as Shiro spoke, a tiny sad smile which never made it to his eyes. “You always look after us.” He reached his hand over to cup it over Genbu’s metal one. 

Lance held Keith a little closer. “Thank you for not abandoning us even when you should have.” 

“I did what anyone should have done. What they did wasn’t a punishment. It was just cruelty.” Shiro closed his eyes. Shiro could still hear the screams of pain so awful even Keith couldn’t hold them back. He could see the pain etched in Lance’s face as he watched his lover suffer with unblinking eyes. He smelled the sweat, fear, and a sickening arousal from the gathered crowd. It churned his stomach. He hated every one of those creatures, despised them. Wanted them all to die in the worst most humiliating way. A hiss started in the back of Shiro’s throat.

“Hey.” Lance reached out his other hand and touched Shiro’s shoulder. The other man seemed to be losing himself in a memory, so the least he could do was try to break him out of it. “We’ll get them back for it.”

Shiro looked up at Lance tears brimming in his eyes and as though still lost in the memory he pulled Lance against his chest with the strength of a bear. “Of course I’ll help you. I will always help you.”

Keith blinked his heart speeding up with the sudden flurry of movement, but when the dust settled, he laid his head down on the table, pillowed by his arms, smiling at the other two.

Lance blinked when he was pulled away from Keith and into Shiro’s chest, his eyes widening. “Eh?” He half flailed his arms, but then he settled and shook his head. “You’re not allowed to get hurt for our sakes again, okay?” He murmured quietly, glancing over at Keith.

“Go ahead, take him to bed before he passes out at the table. Pidge and Hunk got my message and they will be arriving tomorrow morning. Do want them to meet here, or someplace else?”

“I’m okay. Just warming my eyes up a little.”

“Most people say ‘I’m just resting my eyes.’“ Shiro cocked an eye brow at the small god, finally letting Lance go.

“I meant what I said.”

“Here is fine.” Lance slipped away from Shiro once he let him go, and he gathered Keith into his arms. “You can stay here too.” He nodded to the bunk over the driving console of the RV. “At least tonight anyway, so you feel better knowing that we’re going to be okay.”

“Mmn.” Keith leaned against Lance, resting his head on his shoulder.

“I suppose I don’t have to worry about intruding on anything tonight.” Shiro gave Lance a sympathetic smile. “Does this happen often when he’s exhausted his powers?”

“That he gets like this? It’s been a long time…” Lance shook his head and held Keith a little closer. “But we also haven’t done that much since before…” He trailed off and smiled. “You should rest too.”

“Aa.” The elder god nodded his head and stretched. “I’m going to take a walk around the square. Just to check a few things out. You two can go on without me. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

Lance nodded and carried Keith into the bedroom, laying him down on the bed before he touched his forehead. “You need more blankets don’t you?” He sighed and got them, piling them on the bed before getting in it to lay with him.

“I’m not that bad. Am I?” Keith nuzzled into the pillows, flipping on to his stomach but keeping his eyes on Lance.

“You’re a little chilly to the touch.” Lance looked at him. “I can hold you, though I don’t know how much heat I can give you.”

Keith reached over and touched Lance’ lips, then his jaw moving his fingers up to stroke over the outer shell of his ear. “You give me everything you can already. You’re doing all this for me, and went with me to the compound. You didn’t have to but you did. And I only regret I is that I didn’t see what all those women saw.” 

Lance smiled softly. “Well, we have a lifetime, so you’ll just have to keep from exhausting yourself so you can see it whenever it happens.” He nuzzled his hand a little and sighed. “Though I’m glad you didn’t see it this time. It hurt so much.”

“Here, right?” Keith kissed each of Lance’s fingertips.

Lance whimpered a little. “Yeah…” There were tears in his eyes, not because the kisses hurt, but because he was so frustrated with how useless he actually was without his claws. “I mean it hurt all over when it happened, but there still feels bad…”

“Oh?” Keiths brows furrowed creasing his forehead. “How about this,” He moved that hand down and around his hips so Lance’s hand rested against his lower back. He took the other hand and set it out on the pillow, and laid his head into the palm. “Better?”

“I do like holding you, so this helps…” Lance leaned in and nuzzled Keith’s cheek a bit. “I’ll be okay. As long as you’ll be okay.”

“Well this is about as cute as I can possibly get, so appreciate it.” Keith sunk his head into Lance’s hand. He knew he was hamming it up for Lance, but Lance needed it right now. He needed to know that Keith needed him, that was he was something more than someone who waits on the side lines. “You saved all those people today.” Keith kissed his palm. “If I was feeling better, I’d thank you properly.”

Lance shook his head a little. “You don’t have to thank me.” He smiled sheepishly at the kiss to his palm. “I won’t complain if you decide to do it later, but I don’t want you to feel like you had to. I was only doing it because you noticed them, and it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?”

“You’re asking me?” Keith balked a little, but actually thought about it. He’d been considered the guiding light when it came to morality, Suzaku had a strong sense of justice and the concept of the greater good. “It was the right thing to do. The smart thing? Well Shiro would argue against that.”

“Shiro thinks most of what we do is stupid, so…” Lance shook his head slightly and curled more around him, closing his eyes. “But as long as you think it was the right thing to do, I’m okay with it.”

“Most of what we do is stupid.” Keith countered with good natured but weak laugh. 

“I think most of what we do is pretty damn amazing.” Lance grinned slightly, even with his eyes closed. “And I know you think so, too. I’ve heard you yell it.”

Color finally made it to Keith’s pale cheeks. The flush of red brining a spark of life back into his complexion. “I yell a lot of things…” he mumbled softly, hiding his face against Lance’s arm. 

“You do, but I especially like when you yell my name.” Lance grinned, watching the way Keith hid his face. He was relieved that Keith was blushing, since it meant he would be warming up soon. 

Keith felt the burning tingle move down the shells of his ears to the back of his neck. “How could someone stay quiet when something feels like that?” He mumbled with his infamous pout.

“I don’t know, but I’m glad you don’t.” Lance chuckled and moved his hand from Keith’s cheek to his hair, sliding his fingers through the strands at the back of his neck. “Are you warming up?”

“Nn.” Keith arched his neck into Lance’s touch, melting to the gentle caress. Lance always went for that sweet spot, just under where his colored highlights started to grow. It left Keith defenseless and his eyes started to close. “Getting there.”

“Good. You should rest while you’re at it. Don’t worry. I won’t leave.” Lance continued his fingers’ movements in Keith’s hair.

“You fight dirty, you know that?” Keith yawned as he pulled himself in closer, his face nuzzling Lance’s chest.

“I know, but it works doesn’t it?” Lance smiled.

“You just think I’m cute,” Keith yawned breaking up his sentence. “When I’m sleepy.”

“I do think you’re cute when you’re sleepy. I think you’re cute all the time.” Lance continued to play with Keith’s hair. “Rest.”

Keith gave into the prodding of his lover’s touch, his eyes growing dull and drooping, his breath shallow and with one last kiss to Lance’s chest he fell asleep.

Lance relaxed once he was sure Keith was asleep. He shifted a little and flexed his fingers once more, trying to work out the last of the soreness. When it seemed to dull a little more, he closed his eyes and drifted.

 

He sat on top of the RV, his knees pulled up against his chest as he watched the unending expanse of the Arizona desert. He was still tired. Exhausted actually, but he couldn’t sleep any more. It wasn’t in his nature to lay still for that long, despite Lance’s best efforts. He stretched out, laying back on the tin roof of the RV with his fingers laced behind his head. Shiro came back about an hour ago and Keith smiled when he heard him close the door. It was kind of sweet how he tried to inch the screen door closed so he didn’t wake the two occupants.

Keith watched the night drift by, watched the ageless stars move across the sky as the moon rose up to its zenith before starting the slow decent back down to the earth. Perhaps it was the moon Keith should have compared himself to rather than the sun. The moon for all its beautiful grace was a pale reflection of the sun. The light it provided was cold and lonely yet necessary for the world. It pulled the tides, controlled the currents, and washed away the day so every creature could start anew. Without the sun, the moon just silent dusty rock floating between two powers greater than itself. The sun doesn’t notice the existence of the moon yet the celestial object would be void of light without it. The earth would suffer for a time, but like all things the it would adapt and continue to turn. Each day the earth would take a little more of the moon until there was nothing left but darkness and slowly it would be allowed to shine again. 

Keith sighed rubbing one of his hands over his face. What was he doing here? What were any of them doing here? Shiro was right. They were nothing compared to who they were before. Keith was the moon to his former self. They couldn’t take down Tau… what in the name of the gods were they planning on doing as something barely more than human?

Lance sighed when he realized the bed was empty. How long had he been asleep while Keith was gone? He slowly sat up and looked around the bedroom. Had he gone to the bathroom? Nope. Shiro was back, so was he out there talking to him? Lance strained to hear, but there was only silence. He sighed and slowly got out of the bed, looking down at his hands which, thankfully, were not curled up in pain. 

He carefully walked out of the bedroom. It looked like Shiro had fallen asleep on the loveseat. Keith wasn’t anywhere in sight, and Lance’s blood went cold. What if someone came after them already and something happened? Wouldn’t he have woken up earlier if that was the case? He carefully tiptoed out of the RV and looked around. He could smell Keith, so the smaller man couldn’t have gone far. 

Lance heard a noise then and looked up. So that was it. He climbed the ladder to the roof and looked at his lover, brows furrowing when he saw that forlorn expression on his face. “What’s wrong?”

Keith didn’t have to open his eyes, he knew by scent alone when Seiryuu stepped outside. He knew the pacing of each of his foot falls as he came of the ladder, he always dragged his left toe over the rung. He smiled when he imagined his head popping up for the edge of the RV looking at him with that concern in his eyes.

“Everything is wrong. But that’s not the problem.” He sat up on his elbows the wind tossing his raven hair around his face.

“No, but something is even more wrong if you’re up here and not in bed with me.” Lance pulled himself closer to Keith and looked at him, the wrinkles in his forehead relaxing only slightly. “So what’s the problem then?”

“I wanted to see the moon.” Keith answered simply with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“And that’s a problem?” Lance reached down and gently pushed some of Keith’s hair out of his face. “You can come out and see the moon any time. Just wake me up next time, so I can come with you?”

“Think something will come and take me away in the middle of the night?” Keith grinned with a wiggle of his eyebrows but as the probability of his words sunk in he sighed. He didn’t hate the position he was in. He really didn’t. He liked when Lance doted on him. He liked being spoiled. He enjoyed the gentle touches to his hair or cheek. If that made him weak or strange, he’d challenge anyone. In Keith’s mind it took a stronger creature to admit they needed affection, than it did for someone to hide it. Keith didn’t hide himself around Lance. Not for a long time. 

“Shiro is right. We are asking our friends to die for us. We can put all the pretty words to it that we want. But when Hunk and Pidge show up we’ll be asking the same of them that we asked of Shiro. Shiro had a personal stake in what we’re doing. But those two?” Keith leaned against Lance’s shoulder. “I’m not who I used to be. I can’t do any of this on my own.”

“Neither of us can do any of this on our own.” Lance shook his head and shifted so he could put his arm around him, holding him close to his side. “But you know how stubborn those two are. If they don’t want to help, they won’t help. If they want to help, they will.” He shook his head and kissed the top of Keith’s head. “Shiro can also leave if he wants to, and he knows that. Just like they’ll know that too.” He looked up at the sky and sighed. “Those bastard old ones did this to all of us. The five of us were a unit, and they broke us apart.”

Keith pulled his knees to his chest. “We pulled us apart. They tried to warn us. The worst part is. I’d do it all over again. Just for you.”

Lance shook his head. “No. I believed that before because they made us believe it, but I won’t believe it now. They did it, not us.” He held him closer. “They created a law just to punish those of us who found happiness. Several of them have wives and children. There was no reason other than their own pettiness to do what they did. They used us to exert their power over the other gods. We did nothing wrong.” He nuzzled his hair. 

An image flashed through Keith’s head. It was a hazy like a dream on the edge of memory. Something about what Lance said struck his core. He felt the memory hold pain, deepest pain anyone could imagine but a joy he’d never known before. Something was out there, something he forgot. “Lance, all those times I came back to you. Did I ever remember everything?”

Lance blinked, but then he nodded slowly. “As far as I remember, yes.” But he felt Keith’s body tense slightly and he instinctively pulled them closer. “Do…you think there’s something else?” Why was Keith asking? Why did it make Lance feel like there was a knot in his chest?

“I don’t know. I feel like there’s something important. Something that might change everything. But I don’t know.” Keith shook his head. “This isn’t really the time for this is it?”

Lance grimaced and held him closer. “It’s always the time.” He whispered into his hair. “I’ve gotten that feeling before too, but I can’t remember if I’m forgetting anything because I remember everything else, so it doesn’t make sense to me.”

“I have nothing but holes.” Keith sighed looking up at the moon again. “I’m amazed you even love me at all.” So sue him, he was aware he was fishing. He wanted to hear it. He needed to hear it.

“Why? Do you think I shouldn’t love you?” Lance sighed and nuzzled his hair more. “I will never stop loving you. Ever. Even if you kill me to end your own torment.”

“I thought I was being dramatic. I tried to kill you once. Look how that ended up.”

“Yeah, well, you know. I love you.” Lance grinned. 

Keith moved to lay his head face up on Lance’s lap. One hand up playing with the light wisps of hair around his brow, the other resting over his stomach, as if he were shielding the little peak of skin from the cold desert night air. 

“I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it.” Lance smiled a little and reached down to touch Keith’s lips. “I love you.”

Keith playfully nipped at the gentle tips before kissing then licking each one. “I know you do. I know you always will. Until the moon no longer shines.”

“Even when the moon doesn’t shine, I will love you.” Lance smiled and watched him kiss his fingers. For some reason that Lance assumed was just love and cheesiness and everything good, Keith’s kisses made his fingers feel good again. “Thank you.”

“For what? You’re being cute right now. I wanted to kiss you. So you should thank yourself for having me wrapped around your pinky.” Keith kissed his fingers down to the palm of his hand.

“My hands feel better when you kiss them.” Lance blinked, then smiled. “And I’m not the only one being cute, you know. But I always want to kiss you. Don’t you always want to kiss me?” He pouted a little.

Keith grinned at such an easy opening and he turned to hug Lance around his waist his face nuzzling into his stomach,. “I sometimes I want to do other things than kiss you. Other things you taught me how to do.” 

Lance blushed faintly. “Only sometimes? I must be losing my attractiveness in this body, then.” 

“No. This form was always my favorite.” Keith smiled with his nose squished against Lance’s stomach.

“Oh? And it’s still only sometimes? I want to do those things all the time. I just control myself. Especially when your kind of annoying older brother type is asleep inside.” 

Keith blinked and blushed a little. “Oh. Right. I suppose he would hear that up here, wouldn’t he? Though I figured I had exhausted you.. I kept you busy.”

“He would do more than hear it. So would all the others.” Lance motioned to the other RVs parked around the place, but he chuckled and stroked his hair. “I don’t mind when you exhaust me or keep me busy, you know. If I minded, I wouldn’t let you convince me to go along with things.”

“Convince?” Keith’s perfectly arched brow quirked up. “I barely had to look at you and you had me against the wall. Don’t tell me I had to convince you of anything. 

“Oh I mean the dangerous stuff.” Lance grinned and tapped Keith’s lips. “The rest is already on my mind, so no convincing needed there.”

“You still want to do this? “ Keith leaned up to look Lance straight in the face. “No convincing.” 

“With you? Yes. Of course. They hurt you, they hurt me. They need to be hurt.” Lance smiled down at him. “And I want to hurt them all for what they did to us, to our friends…”

“I love it when you sound brave.” Keith nuzzled into his cheek then lick it. “I’m going to start not caring if anyone sees us.”

“Well, we don’t really have the energy to do much more than curl up together to we?” Lance chuckled. “I care who sees you. You’re for me only. And I’d have to pull some eyes out if you let anyone else see you get sexy.” He grinned.

“Ah! Told you Pidge. Yup on the roof being cute.” An ash black mop of hair popped up over the edge of the RV. “Awwww, so cute… you guys make my heart happy. Sitting under the moon. All talking about poking eyes out and stuff. It’s so romantic.”

‘Hunk…” Keith groaned and laid his head against Lance’s shoulder.

“Hunk, in all these years, your tact hasn’t gotten any better.” Pidge’s voice came from below. “Get down here before you wake the neighbors. It’s still early.”

Lance sighed and nuzzled Keith’s hair. “I suppose that’s our cue hm?”

“If by cue you mean a splash of ice water across the face then a slap by a metal gauntlet? Then yes. That’s our cue.” Keith stood up, offering his hand to Lance. “If they are here chances are Shiro is awake too.” 

“Yeah, on the couch drinking coffee with head phones in. Didn’t even hear us knock. You wouldn’t even think you guys are being hunted by half of the court.”

“Yes. Thank you Hunk. We get it.” Keith rubbed his nose.

“They can’t get down if you’re still on the ladder, idiot.” Pidge muttered. 

Hunk’s face disappeared with a bit of a yelp. Pidge must have pulled him down, so Lance shook his head and helped Keith down the ladder, hopping to the ground once everyone was off the roof of the RV. “Inside, then,” He waited, watching the others scramble in, though he reached out and grabbed Keith’s hand, holding it as they entered.

Keith folded his fingers between Lance’s. Smiling at the snickers from Hunk. Being around Kouryuu always made Keith feel at home. The Yellow Dragon of the center. He was what bound them all together. The strongest, the kindest of all of them and he gave the warmest hugs.

“Gah I missed you guys!” Keith was picked up within those thick arms and crushed against Hunks soft body. “You’re so snuggly! And warm!” Hunk cuddled Keith’s hair, the only other creature in all the heavens manmade or divine aside from Lance who was ever allowed to proclaim Suzaku’s cuddliness. 

“Hey!” Lance winced a little when Hunk pulled Keith up, since Keith was holding his hand, and the action jerked his fingers a bit. “Be careful, Hunk” He carefully pulled his hand away from Keith and shook it a bit. “You’re so impulsive.” 

Pidge blinked and looked at Lance’s hand. “What happened?”

“I don’t have claws, remember?”

“But that shouldn’t…” She blinked again, then her eyes widened. “You shifted?”

Lance looked off to the side and made a bit of a face. 

“No fooling? You were able to shift? With all your stuff gone?” Hunk gently set Keith back on the ground and eyed Pidge for a second. “Like not just wings or tails or anything?”

“He became the Azure dragon.” Keith waited for Lance to sit and he came up behind him to hug around his chest letting him rest his head back against him as he kissed the top of his head.

“It took a lot out of them, Keith ate into his own lifeforce while they were up against Tau.” Shiro added as he sat back on the couch looking up at his rag tag family.

“To be fair, I didn’t do it on purpose, and I didn’t know it was going to happen.” Lance shook his head a little, careful of Keith. “And Tau was dead, It’s just that the compound was exploding and I was saving a bunch of people. Keith tried to hold the flames back as best he could, but we each only have one of our mansions back, so…”

“One?” Pidge sat next to Shiro and crossed her arms. “Muzha, then? He’s the only idiot who would attack you directly, right?” She glanced at Hunk. “Did you hear anything?”

Hunk rubbed his hand under his chin and sighed. “Not until it was too late to do anything about it. There’s been a lot of activity around you two. Well three now. Sorry Shiro you’re thrown in the mix now too. But I didn’t know Muzha was coming in for Keith.” Hunk eyed the two wayward gods. “Shiro mentioned something about a notebook?”

Keith nodded his head. “I was keeping a diary sort of… for the last few hundred years. It kept me sane. I was tracking down gods and making a list of names and who and where they were. In retrospect not a great idea.”

“You wouldn’t have known any better.” Shiro comforted. “You were doing what you could.”

“Can I see it?” Pidge looked at Keith, pushing her glasses up on her nose. 

Lance sighed and looked over at them, before he shook his head. “Nizha came to see us, too, but…” He grimaced. “If he has another set…”

“He does.” Hunk said solemnly. “They didn’t give him a choice,”

Keith froze as he handed Pidge the notebook his head bowing as the loosely bound papers slipped from his fingers to Pidge’s hands. 

Pidge remained quiet as she flipped through the notebook, her nose wrinkling a bit as she examined the contents.

“Of course. There was no way he would have taken them on his own.” Lance rested his hands on Keith’s and looked up at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek before settling back down in the chair and looking at the others. “And he knows what we’d have to do to get them back…”

“Of course he does.” Keith’s voice hardened with a forced chill. “He’s ready for it. It’s why he sent Genbu to us. He wants us to have a chance, and he won’t die willingly.” 

“Well, there isn’t much anyone can do about it right now, not when you two are still weakened.” Shiro frowned, glancing at the notebook in Pidge’s hands. “But we will come up with a plan.”

Lance nodded and gently squeezed Keith’s hands. “We’ll get through it.” 

“But umm, why would they want something like that? Hunk asked looking over Pidge’s shoulder.

“Simple.” Keith clenched his fist. “If you were a dying desperate god that knew how to strip powers away from one god and implant them into another, what would you want?”

“Nizha likes us, and dislikes what they did.” Lance sighed. “It’s all about punishing him, and proving their own power…” He went silent and watched them. They had a long road ahead of them, didn’t they?


	8. What Voices Whisper?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Art!!
> 
> [ **A Time of Peace - Art by Autumn-Sacura** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)

There was an awkward silence after Lance stated the obvious. It was clear that the elder gods had lost some of their influence, and the only way they could keep it was to punish those around them. It was why they were so cruel to Seiryuu and Suzaku back then. It was why they tore Genbu’s arm away from him when he tried to protect Seiryuu from seeing Suzaku’s punishment. It was also why Byakko and Kouryuu remained silent. They knew what would happen, and right now, Lance was actually glad for it. Of the five, three of them were broken in some way. Two whole celestial beings was better than five broken ones. 

And while he probably wouldn’t admit it, he was happy to see his friends all in the same place again. These were the only people he knew he could trust. He looked around the small room and shook his head a little before he began to speak again. 

“When Nizha came to see us, we were in Colorado. I have no idea if he followed us down here.” Lance glanced up at Keith. The shorter man still had that angry expression on his face. Of course he did. The whole idea was infuriating. So Lance reached up and gently touched his cheek. Now was not the time to get riled up. They needed to talk and plan, and after their last impulsive move, it was probably a good idea that they laid as low as they could for now.

“I’ll see what I can find.” Pidge murmured, still flipping through the book Keith gave her. After a moment, she closed it and shook her head a little, tossing the journal on the table in front of Lance.

Keith, who leaned into Lance’s touch, felt a wash of emotions run through him. They cascaded down his body, and for a moment he forgot where he was. He only knew the anchor who held him. “I’m sorry.” He kissed Lance’s palm. He knew they had to be careful about this. Even if they may die, it didn’t mean they had to die. 

“I didn’t know I was making anything that important.” Keith admitted. “I just wanted to try to find everyone.” 

Shiro sighed. “No one blames you Keith.” The voice of his charge sounded displaced and filled with isolation, Shiro had to speak up.

“I mean how could we blame you?” Hunk walked over and patted Keith on the shoulder. “It’s not like any of us want to be apart, right? And with you two lovebirds it must have been driving you nuts.”

Lance blinked, but he shook his head and just smiled a bit, though his lips were thin. “None of that matters, since we’re all together now. And I’m not going to let their curse take him, or any of you, away again.”

Keith fidgeted with his fingers for a moment. The ground Hunk treaded upon was dangerous. “You have no idea.” He needed to be near Lance now, he needed to feel him press against him, hear his heartbeat, and feel his breathing. He didn’t care who was in the room with them as he came around to the front of the chairs and sat himself down across Lance’s lap.

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith as if it was completely natural to be holding his lover so close. Part of it was a relief. They didn’t have to hide their affection any more, which was a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. 

“But at least we’re all here.” Hunk grinned. “And Pidge is really good at finding people, so we can find anyone else we need to find.”

Shiro watched the way Lance simply accepted his lover, and he felt a twitch of envy for how the smaller immortal curled into him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He wanted to protect that. He wanted to protect them and what they stood for. In this state they appeared so content and harmless. Their contentment was problem. When creatures develop a heart they become unpredictable and unreasonable, and logic is no longer a driving force.

“So why don’t we just destroy the notebook? There would be nothing to go over then right?” Hunk picked up the book and thumbed through it without ever looking at what was written inside.

 

“It would work, in theory but we’d still have the problem with the one who wrote it. Keith wrote it. Keith would be what they’d want. It’s not about the notebook, it’s about the contents. They want Keith and the book, and if they can’t have the book, they’ll just come after Keith.” Shiro leaned back on the couch and stared over the rim of his tea cup. “And you two know that, don’t you?”

“Of course we do.” Lance spoke quietly, holding Keith a little closer. “But they can’t have him. They’d have to kill both of us to get him, and they’re not willing to kill him at least, so that’s probably the only thing we have going for us right now. They’re probably still holding onto the hope that he’ll repent and rejoin them in heaven, since he is a great source of power, and they’ve lost him.”

“Hm.” Pidge sat back a bit in the loveseat and crossed her arms. “That could explain why they keep trying to separate you two, and up until this last time, he’s been able to fight it off and come back…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “We can’t let you two be separated again. It might be permanent the next time.”

Lance grimaced. Pidge always had a way of saying the one thing they were all thinking, but never wanted to say. “I won’t let him leave…” 

“Do you have a choice? I mean if it was that simple as just not wanting to wouldn’t this have been solved already? They almost had Keith dead this time. So what would be their plan then?” Hunk asked standing beside the couch Pidge was on, and handing out refills of drinks as though he owned the kitchen.

“They would still have the book if I was dead. Not ideal for them, but they wouldn’t complain.” Keith sighed. “I don’t know how to keep myself from leaving. I don’t remember enough about why I’d leave in the first place. I just… there are voices…” He admitted, his volume lowering to a whisper.

Lance’s jaw set, and he held Keith as close as he possibly could without crushing the smaller man. “Voices?” He frowned. “They told you to leave?” He glanced at Shiro, who just shook his head, since he clearly had no idea either. “Do you hear them now?”

“No. Not now.” Keith swallowed and leaned his head against Lance’s shoulder. “A few days ago when you gave me these,” he tucked his hair back behind his right ear, showing the new sapphires cuffing his ears. “I remembered when I was upset about these.” Keith reached up to touch the gems. “I heard them. They were loud and painful until all I could do was listen.”

Shiro looked woefully at Hunk then Pidge. “So that’s how they do it.”

“They get you to a point where if you don’t listen, your mind will crack. I’ve seen it done before.” Hunk said walking over to Keith. He rested his hand on the smaller celestial’s head as if that motion alone could ease at least the memory of pain. “The harder you fight it the louder it gets. One guy had blood coming out of his eyes, then ears before his skull-“

“Hunk!” Shiro cut off the other god with a yell and a glare. “That’s not the focus right now.”

“Which one of them can do it?” Lance’s voice was quiet, almost distant, but he made no move to loosen his arms from Keith. 

Pidge shook her head. “This isn’t something you need to worry about right now…”

“Which one of them can do it?” Lance’s voice was still quiet, but now there was a growl to it.

“Lance…It’s getting too cold in here.” Shiro rubbed his arm a bit, though the prosthetic really couldn’t provide warmth to his flesh. 

Keith lifted and cupped Lance’s cheeks in his hands. The motion forced sea blue eyes to focus on his own. Heat flowed from his touch in an unending wave of tender compassion. “It’s getting cold, Lance.”

Lance’s pupils had thinned and lengthened into those dragon slits, but his eyes found Keith’s, and he felt the warmth in his cheeks, which seemed to be enough to calm his rage. “Sorry…” He whispered, closing his eyes and bowing his head.

Pidge breathed a sigh of relief when the air warmed up again. “Hunk, sometimes your lack of tact is really a problem, you know that?”

Hunk winced at the scolding. “Well if my head could crack down the middle, I would like to know about it. Wouldn’t you? I mean you’d tell me if that was something that was gonna happen to me, wouldn’t you?”

Keith sighed and looked over the yellow dragon. “Hunk, your head is about to split down the center.” On cue Shiro hit the back of the larger god’s head with the heavy part of his metal arm. Keith chuckled as Hunk cried out in mock pain. They really were a group of idiots.

“Idiot.” Pidge shook her head, but she reached up and patted Hunk’s arm. “There there. It’s not your fault you speak before you think.”

Lance kept his head bowed and his eyes closed. He tried to focus on breathing evenly, but he could feel that anger still swirling inside the pit of his stomach. “Do you know who it is, Hunk?” He asked after a moment, lifting his head to look at the other dragon. His eyes were back to normal, but the blue was darker, bleeding into the black of his pupils like the deepest abyss. “I won’t…I won’t do anything stupid, but if you know…”

“Mind manipulation? Well it’s not hard if you think about it. I can do it. Shiro too, to an extent. But as far as who would do it maliciously? I don’t know. It wouldn’t even be a thought for the Jade Emperor to do something like that. I mean… he sorta has that all powerful thing going on for him.”

Keith watched Lance and sighed softly, the rage inside his lover was barely concealed. He couldn’t blame him. Keith was more than angry too, but in Lance’s mind the transgression was deep, territorial. Lance, a dragon, possessive by nature, had learned of another taboo violation committed against his lover. Someone penetrated inside his lover, fucked him up and left him to wither. The idea made Keith’s stomach churn. 

“Do you need a moment?” Keith nuzzled Lance’s jaw.

“So it’s him…? You think? Is it like him to do something himself?” Lance sighed and shook his head, bowing it again and taking a few deep breaths. “When…I get all of my parts back…I will tear him apart.”

“We’re not sure it’s him. All Hunk said is that it would be easy for him to do it. Several gods have the ability to manipulate the mind. Even one has locked up as Keith’s.” Shiro sighed and looked around the place. “It doesn’t change what we have to do.”

“I’m bait right?” Keith said as he leaned his back against Lance’s chest, his head tilting to the side, showing the barest hint of the Dragon’s mark on his body. It faded over the last several days, but the silent implication was vivid. While they were all having a serious conversation, Keith continued on one of his own with Lance.

“I’m still going to kill him.” Lance muttered. “I’ll kill all of them.” He was losing himself again, but as Keith shifted, as that slight mark was visible to him, the anger started to settle once more, and he held Keith a little closer.

“Well, let’s not call it that.” Pidge shook her head, her hand still on Hunk’s arm from earlier. She slowly stood and walked to the other two, as if studying the way they curled around each other. Like yin and yang, only separated when forced apart. “Despite his anger, Lance is right. You two need your mansions back, and you’re going to struggle until you get them.” She stepped back and took her seat on the loveseat once again. “I don’t know which ones Nizha has, but there are still the other four—“ She blinked, then shook her head. “Five to find.”

Keith closed his eyes, satisfied with Lance’s change in behavior, but then he quirked an eyebrow up at Pidge when the youngest god spoke. “Do we know if Nizha has one or two?”

Pidge shook her head. “It has to be one. I don’t think he can carry two of yours. One of yours, one of his, but not two of each.” She glanced over at Hunk before looking back at Keith. “So there must be five others, right?”

Lance pressed his face against Keith’s neck and started to breathe a bit more calmly. “Five others…”

Keith pressed his cheek against his lover’s head. “That’d make sense, yes.” Keith didn’t want to focus on fighting Nizha right now. What he wanted was to focus on the ones he could get without worrying about his conscious. “Who can we get?”

Hunk’s eye brow arched up, he was starting to get the idea that these two wanted to be alone, but they had more important issues to discuss, so he was hoping he could at least finish their business. He didn’t really want to see his two closest friends get it on in front of him. “It’s like pulling a lottery…”

“Give me a day to see what I can find.” Pidge looked to Shiro, then Hunk. She stood once more and started to walk to the door of the RV. “We should come back in the morning. It’ll give me time to look, and it will give them time to rest.” She gently rested her hand on Hunk’s arm again as she passed. “And I have a project that I need to check on.”

Hunk and Shiro both stood up, a small knowing smile on each of their faces. “We’ll check in with you all in the morning.” Shiro said, following Pidge’s lead. 

Hunk’s hand took the smaller one and nodded to the group. When his better half decided it was time to do something, room for questioning was nil.

Keith watched their friends file out of the RV before turning to murmur against Lance’s jaw. “We chased them away.”

“Sorry…” Lance pouted a little, though he really wasn’t all that upset that they were gone. He was getting too angry, and he needed time to calm down. The only one who could help him with that was curled up in his lap. He nuzzled Keith’s cheek and chuckled. “Though did you catch it? No wonder Shiro was able to find them both so easily…” He managed a faint smile. The anger had dissipated, for now, and was replaced with something much warmer. 

“They were pretty obvious.” Keith tilted his head for Lance’s nuzzle. “But I wasn’t very focused on them. I had a dragon breathing heavily down my neck.”

“I won’t apologize for that.” Lance murmured and nuzzled his neck a bit once Keith’s head tilted. “But…I am glad for it. It’s more proof that we did nothing wrong.” He kissed those fading marks he left.

Keith shivered with a stuttered breath. “Do you want to?” 

“I always want to. Do you want me to?” Lance licked those marks.

“You know my answer.” Keith whispered. His breath quickening in anticipation. “I want you to show them I’m yours.”

Lance groaned, his eyes shifting and practically glowing as he dragged his teeth across the marks and bit into the same spot, groaning at Keith’s taste.

Keith arched against Lance’s shoulder, his hips lifting from his lap with a jerk. His eyes wide then slowly drifting shut as he settled back against his dragon with a long satisfied sigh. “Nnn.”

Lance pulled back and lapped up some of that blood with his tongue. “Mine.” He half-growled as he held Keith closer. 

“Yours. Always yours. Forever.” Keith groaned. The bite hurt when not in the throes of heat but it was the most delicious pain.

“Mmm. I love you.” Lance licked up another stray line of blood, groaning again. “I need you.”

“I’m yours to have.” Keith kissed into Lance’s jaw and then his neck. “and your mine.” Keith smirked, nipping at his flesh. “Heika.” He purred the moniker 

“Fuck.” Lance moaned and tilted his head for him. “You drive me crazy.” He moaned again and pushed his hips up towards him.

“You look sane to me. Maybe I’m not trying hard enough?” Keith licked at the corner of Lance’s mouth. A sweet little kitten lick. “What can I do?”

Lance’s eyes darkened, and he tried to kiss Keith after that lick. “Kiss me.” Me murmured and pushed his hips up again. “Keep kissing me.”

Keith licked again, pushing his tongue into Lance’s mouth, nipping at his lip as he dragged it toward him and suck at it.

Lance pulled him closer and lifted a hand to stroke through Keith’s hair as he kissed him back. He moaned, his eyes starting to close. “Keith…” he managed when the kiss was over. 

“Yes, heika?”

“Too many clothes.” Lance murmured and kept trying to kiss him.

“How should I help with that?”

“Take them off.” Lance murmured. “Please.”

“Mine? Yours? Who first?”

“Yours, mine, doesn’t matter as long as we’re both naked.” Lance kissed him and grinned. “And since you’re on top of me, it’s up to you. Just don’t rip too much.”

Keith smiled. “I’m not in heat right now. Your clothes are safe. I just want you.”

Lance chuckled and kissed him. “Well, we can just do it then.” He grinned a little and lift his hands to pull at Keith’s shirt. “But off.”

Keith kissed him back, chuckling to himself as he took Lance’s hands and stopped him. “You wanted me to do it, right? Then let me.” He slipped off Lance’s lap. “Tell me what to take off first.”

“Any of it. I’m not picky.” Lance pouted when Keith left his lap, his hands moving to tug off his own shirt. “Though you’re still bleeding a little, so maybe the shirt.” His eyes darkened. After all, Keith was wearing one of Lance’s shirts, since it was the easiest to get him into when he was asleep, so watching him take it off was going to be fun. 

“I know you’re not picky.” Keith stepped between Lance’s legs, pushing them open with his knees. “You just have a very peculiar taste.” Slowly and with the patience of a craftsman, Keith pulled the borrowed shirt up from the hem. Every inch of him exposed at pace defined as cruel, like waving a steak before a starving dog.

“I think I have excellent taste.” Lance’s eyes widened a bit when Keith started pulling that shirt up. He groaned a little at Keith’s pacing, but he was happy, even if he was being teased. Keith was still with him, so there wasn’t anything he would complain about at the moment. 

“Better?” Keith rested his hand on Lance’s shoulder his fingers tenderly stroking his neck. “Your taste is very specific.”

“Much.” Lance grinned and leaned in to kiss him. “My taste is only for you.” 

Keith smirked and touched Lance’s lips with his fingers before he could kiss him. “Tell me.”

Lance licked at his fingers. “Tell you that you’re the only one allowed to taste me? Or tell you why you’re my taste?” He took one of those digits into his mouth and watched Keith.

“Why-Nng!” Keith gasped at the feel of Lance’s tongue over his fingers. Hot and cold shot through him, making a moan escape him.

Lance kept watching Keith’s face as he lavished that finger with his tongue. He smirked just a bit, knowing just how much pleasure it was making his lover feel. “Mmm?” He murmured before slowly pulling his head back.

Keith whimpered and started to move his fingers in and out of Lance’s mouth, his eyes getting more vibrant until he pulled away. Desire and hunger burned in the blue violet depths as his tongue came out to wet his lips.

“Impatient are we?” Lance smirked and watched him. “Maybe you just really like my mouth?”

“I do.” Keith touched Lance’s lower lip with his thumb. “Now I’m imagining things it can do, to distract you, of course.”

Lance licked at his thumb and smirked. “And what would you like to distract me from? Pleasing you?” 

“Being angry. You’re sexy when you’re mad, but I like when you focus on me more.” Keith wanted to relax his lover. Going off halfcocked was Keith’s MO, not Lance’s, and he was worried the man could do serious harm.

Lance blinked, then shook his head and wrapped his arms around him. “I was mad because someone’s hurting you. I’m sorry if I upset or worried you about it. I won’t do anything stupid, I think. I hope. I don’t want you to be sad.”

“I’ll be sad if you’re hurt.” Keith ran his fingers through Lance’s hair pressing his head against his stomach. 

“When you’re hurt, I’m hurt.” Lance nuzzled Keith’s stomach before he kissed around his navel. “You are as much a part of me as I am of you. I will destroy whoever is messing with your head and telling you lies.” He kissed again. “If it ever told you I stopped loving you. It lied. If It ever told you I’d leave you, it lied. If it told you I didn’t give you my scales those times because I hated you, it lied. If it told you I would rather be with anyone else, it lied. I love you. I need you. I want you. I only have eyes for you.” After each of those affirmations, he kissed again. 

“Nng” Keith moaned, his fingers kneading his hair at the back of his lover’s neck. “It hurts when I fight it. Until it’s all I hear and all I know.” He shivered with each kiss, watching and anticipating every touch of Lance’s soft lips against his stomach. “It’s why I forget… why it’s been getting worse.” The realization dawned on Keith even has he said it. 

Lance nuzzled his stomach. “Then…let’s hope I get my chest back, so I can heal you.” He looked up at Keith, pouting a little. To know that the curse had damaged Keith’s mind to that extent made him angry again, but he kept himself calm while his arms were around him and while Keith’s fingers were moving in his hair. He nuzzled his stomach once more before lowering his head and licking along a love line. “If it happens again, tell me before you fight it, okay?”

“Mmm. Yes, Heika.” Keith whimpered now, arching just a little against Lance. “It doesn’t make me stop loving you. It can’t take that away.”

“I know.” Lance murmured as he licked down that line and moved a little, one hand curling around Keith’s heat. “But I can at least follow you. Please don’t let it hurt you anymore, okay?” He moved his hand slowly, looking up at him. “Let me take care of you.”

“You… ah!” Keith head arched back his spine straightening when Lance touched him and took his heat. “I’m trying to take care of you.” He said when he bent his head back down to his lover. 

Lance said nothing at first, he just smirked and lowered his mouth onto Keith. After a moment, he murmured something around him, but he didn’t lift his head from Keith’s sex. He simply moaned a little and continued to take care of him.

Keith curled his body around Lance’s head as he cried out. His fingers gripped his hair pulling him closer and himself deeper. “Lance!!”

When Keith pushed himself deeper, Lance tried to chuckle at how cute that reaction was, but he couldn’t really with Keith in his mouth. So he continued to work his tongue over him as best he could, pulling his head back as much as Keith’s hands would allow, only to take more of him in again.

Holding Lance’s head with one hand, Keith the other moved down his back, raking gentle nails down the narrow line of his spine. Keith sucked in the edge of his lips while his fingers pressed and kneaded his flesh. His wings unfurled and draped down around then like a canopy of iridescent flame.

Lance groaned at the light scratching down his back. He slid his hands around to grip Keith’s backside and hold the smaller man’s hips steady as he worked his mouth over him.

“Lance,” Suzaku begged, whimpering as the heat became too much but not enough just yet. “Please! Please!! Ah!!” Keith bit hard on his lower lip. He was losing control.

Lance gripped Keith’s backside again as if encouraging to just let it go. He moaned around him and looked up, trying to see his lover’s face.

“Ah!” Keith cried as he came. His hand darting to his mouth, stifling his whimper with his knuckle. “Lance…” His knees gave way, and his body slipped to the floor. Keith’s head came to rest on Lance’s chest as his wings sprawled limply over his thighs. 

Lance grinned as Keith slipped away from him, the hands he had on his bottom sliding up his back and over his wings. “Too much?”

“Nggg…” Keith squirmed helplessly. His wings fanned out more to Lance’s urging than to any command from Keith. It was as though the other god had more control over his body than Keith did.

“Maybe we should just get you to bed then.” Lance smirked as he ran a finger over the edge of one wing. “Since you look completely spent.”

“Engh!” Keith’s shoulders tensed up, the wing Lance manipulated twisted and spread to his call, turning into his caress. “I can keep going.” He got out as a breath of another moan. 

“Can you? It doesn’t look like it.” Lance grinned, entirely too pleased with himself. “Prove it, then.”

“Prove I can keep going?” Keith’s glamoured eyes focused up on Lance’s face, tilting his chin up and dragging a clawed hand up his chest. Soft lips nestled into Lance’s collar bone, just as Keith’s tongue flicked out to wet them.

“Yes.” Lance breathed at the attentions to his collarbone. “Prove that you can handle more and not just need to sleep.” 

“How?”

“Well if you’re the one proving it, shouldn’t you come up with that?” Lance smirked and slid a finger over Keith’s wing once more.

“Aah!” Keith pressed himself closer into Lance, his hard desire against his stomach. “This?” He moved his body down then up against him.

“Mmm! That’s a good start!”

“It got harder.” Keith mused. He lowered his hand down to pull Lance out of his sweats and trapped his sex between his palm and stomach. He moved a little at first, concentrating on moving his body opposite his hand.

“Of…course it got harder.” Lance moaned when his heat was trapped like that. “It always gets harder when…nnn” he reached out and touched Keith’s lips. “When you touch it...”

To his silent command Keith parted his lips, his head titling to the side as he ran his tongue over his fingers then slipped between them. “Hai, Heika.” Still using his body to grind against his lover.

“Nnn… Keith.” Lance moaned and watched him, eyes dark. His hips shifted with the way Keith’s body was moving against him. “Are you…trying to distract me?”

“I said so earlier.” Keith ran the tip of his tongue over the meat of Lance’s offered fingers. “You should focus more on me.” 

“I’m very focused on you.” Another moan escaped, and Lance licked his own lips.

“Which parts?”

“Currently the parts touching me.” Lance murmured. 

“My stomach? That’s a weird thing to focus on.” Keith teased taking Lance’s finger into his mouth, treating the digit as though it were something else.

“And your hand holding me against your stomach.” Lance’s eyes locked onto Keith’s, and he grinned through his groan. “And now your mouth.” He lifted his other hand to run his fingers through Keith’s hair. 

Keith held those eyes effortlessly. Watching him as he let his fingers drop, and darkening when he took the first taste of Lance’s hardened tip. He knew what Lance wanted from the start, but Keith wanted to hear him ask for it.

Lance’s eyes closed and he grunted a little. “Are…you trying to tire me out…or prove you’re not tired?” He kept his fingers in Keith’s hair as he pushed his hips up a little. This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he wasn’t going to complain. 

“Are you getting tired?” Keith purred against Lance’s heat. “But there’s a lot I want to do yet.”

“No. Of course not.” Lance murmured and gripped his hair lightly. “Nnn. I just didn’t expect this.” He grinned. “Though I’m definitely not complaining.” 

“You didn’t? I thought it was what you were implying.” Keith wrapped his hand around him as he licked up the underside and swirled his tongue across the tip. “Though you are more straight forward when you do.”

“No…” Lance moaned and played with his hair a little even as he tilted his own head back. “I just wanted you to show me you wouldn’t pass out if we started having sex.” He chuckled a little, though they were half moans due to Keith’s attentions. 

“If?” Keith purred taking just the tip between his lips.

“When!”

Keith grinned, pulling Lance deeper into his mouth. His wings ruffling against his thighs. 

“Ah!” Lance cried out and arched a little, his other hand resting on one of his wings as he kept gripping his hair. “Fuck! Keith!”

“Mmmph!” Keith’s yelp was muffled as he took Lance further into mouth, feeling him against the back of his throat. His eyes became indigo jewels shimmering beneath long velvet lashes as they stayed fixated on Lance.

Lance cried out once more as he came, his fingers twisting in Keith’s hair while his other hand fell from that wing. “Ah!”

When Keith swallowed he made a soft audible sound, loud enough to reach Lance’s ears. His head laid on his thigh, sweet innocent face focused on Lance as he swallowed again.

As that high faded, Lance looked down at Keith and moved his hand from his hair to his cheek, poking it lightly. “How…can you look at me like that after what you just did?”

“How am I looking at you?” Keith nuzzled his hand.

“Like the most innocent angel.” Lance slid a finger down to his lips. “Come up here.”

“An angel? You know better.” Keith licked at his finger but followed it up to sit on Lance’s lap nonetheless. “If you have a complaint, take it up with the one who showed me.”

“Why do you think I’m complaining?” Lance pouted. “I like how you look, even if your expression doesn’t match your actions.” He wrapped his arms around Keith and kissed him. 

Keith kissed back, smirking, knowing Lance could taste himself in his mouth. “And what are my actions?”

Lance looked at him flatly. It didn’t bother him that he tasted himself, but Keith seemed to gloat a little too much about it. “If I have to refresh your memory from only a few moments ago, then you don’t like me as much as you say you do.” He pouted again and slid one hand up between Keith’s wings.

Keith pouted, “So I still suck at flirting?” He didn’t have time to think more on his comeback. When Lance touched him, his mind blanked, and his body bowed, making his wings lift little from Lance’s thigh.

“Oh is that what you were doing?” Lance kissed his pout as his fingers moved and touched that spot where Keith’s wings came from his back. “You’ve always been better at being direct.” He murmured against his lips. “Or just looking at me.”

“Aa-ah!” Keith fought the urge to arch again. He didn’t want to move away from that kiss. Instead he trembled and cried out Lance’s name.

Lance smirked and touched that sensitive area again. He wanted to make sure Keith enjoyed himself. “Oh, you like this hm?” Of course he did, and of course Lance knew that. He just liked the way Keith always reacted to his touch and his teasing. “So I should keep doing it?”

“Ke-keep touching me, however you want.. please.” Keith nuzzled Lance’s cheek. “But hurry. You can put it in however you want.” He pleaded, knowing what his begging did to Lance.

“Oh?” Lance smiled just a little and slid a finger along the bone of a wing. “And you’re ready for that?” He lowered his other hand to check. “It doesn’t seem like you are.” He murmured before pushing a finger into him. 

“Eenn! Lance!!” Keith lifted himself against this lover’s chest. That was an unfair move!

Lance’s smile grew to a grin as he moved his finger a bit. “You want me don’t you? Then you need to be ready for me.”

“I know, but…” Keith leaned his lower body out to Lance’s finger. “It’s not enough. I want more.” He turned his head and licked at Lance’s ear. Nibbling up and then down the shell of it before getting to his lobe. 

“I will give you more.” Lance murmured and added another finger. He looked at Keith with dark eyes. “Still not enough?”

“Not enough.” The chair below them creaked. The RV standard furniture was not made for this type of abuse. 

“Well we should fix that.” Lance kissed him as he moved his fingers a little more, grinning slightly as he pulled them out. “Something more hm?” He lifted Keith a little before pulling him down on him. “Like this?”

Keith’s wings shot up, knocking a canister and a plate to the floor. His whole body tightened as Lance pierced him. “Fuck!” He rolled his hips once letting his body get used to the intrusion. “Mmn, Lance…” Keith cooed softly.

“Ah! Feels so good…Nng!” Keith arched into him. “Oh! Y-you just grew a little more…”

“Nnn did I?” Lance moaned and leaned up to try to kiss Keith once his hips started moving. “Is it enough for you?”

“Un.” Keith whimpered. “Almost too much.” His fingers pulled and curled around in Lance’s hair.

“As long as it’s what you need.” Lance groaned and pushed up.

“Lance!” Keith toppled back a little and braced himself against the edge. The position gave Keith leverage but pushed him further down on Lance. It also gave the other god an unobstructed view of his lover’s spread-legged body.

If Lance didn’t have amazing control, that view would have sent him wildly over the edge. As it was, his hips pushed up a bit faster than before. He moaned and clutched Keith’s hips, looking at him with black eyes. “Keith…”

“La-Lance!” Keith arched his head back, a cry growing in his throat. He needed more, he wanted more, but to do that he had to bring Lance further. He met the dark eyes of his lover, his fingers trailing down his own jaw, then lips, chin, and neck. Keith slowed the progression of his caress down when it came to his chest and stomach. It was for show, it was an acknowledgement that everything he touched belonged to Lance.

“Fuck.” Lance growled a bit before he pulled Keith to his chest, his hands holding him closer as he moved his hips. After a few more thrusts, he lifted himself from the chair, still holding Keith. He kissed him and walked to the loveseat, sitting back down and resuming the motion of his hips, though this time thrusting faster and harder.

Keith’s eyes widened, and his body tensed up as Lance moved to the couch. He tightened around Lance’s sex, crying out in a voice he’d never heard himself make. It was desperate sound. Not one of pain, but of startled pleasure. It was pitched and caught somewhere between a yelp, a moan, and a gasp. It embarrassed him to hear it so he hid his face into Lance’s shoulder.

With a groan, Lance turned his head enough to nuzzle into Keith’s hair. It was a tender gesture despite the erratic thrusting of his hips. “Are you okay?” He managed between groans, growls, and gasps of air.

Keith nodded, keeping his face in Lance’s shoulder. Lance still saw his flushed cheeks, his parted, kiss-bruised lips, and his glazed deep indigo eyes as they stared forward, through the couch. Keith was trying to focus but hanging on the edge of control.

Lance nuzzled his way to Keith’s reddened cheek and kissed it, murmuring softly. “Stay with me.” He slowed his hips again to get those words out, but he kept them slower so Keith could regain himself if he needed to.

Keith’s head followed his eyes as he met Lance’s face. “Lance?” 

“Yes.” Lance lifted one hand from Keith’s hip to touch his cheek. He moved himself slowly, and his eyes were still black, but he worked on keeping Keith with him.

Keith leaned into Lance’s hand, his eyes vacant for a second before sparking to life. “Seiryuu.” He purred.

“Yes, Suzaku.” Lance murmured and brushed his thumb over Keith’s lower lip. “It’s me. Focus on me.”

Keith kissed his thumb. The glaze coming over his eyes made the immortal appear displaced. Time’s ghost playing over his features in whispers of memory, a place when he’d given all he was and would ever be to the Dragon god. “Seiryuu…” Keith whimpered his name, his hips moving a little faster.

“Yes. Keith.” Lance groaned but grew concerned at the look in his lover’s eyes. “But what is my name now, love?” He moved his hand away from Keith’s lips so he could kiss him.

“Name?” Keith asked in a breath between their lips before Lance kissed him. He couldn’t concentrate, all was encompassed by pleasure and the deliciously cold heat thrusting inside of him. “Seiryuu,” he moaned biting then sucking on Lance’s lower lip. “Always Seiryuu, my Seiryuu.”

Keith pulled away enough to see Lance’s face. His fingers tracing a soft line down his jaw, moans leaving his lips as whispers while he moved, face, neck and chest flushed and sweating, the bite glowing redder and hotter. “Lance.” He said at last, another thrust and a shudder racking through his frame.

Lance moaned at each of those gentle touches. “That’s it, Keith.” He leaned in and kissed him, his hips moving with him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Keith pulled Lance to his body. He laid his head against the darker man’s shoulder as he gripped the back of his hair. From the waist down, his body felt like it was melting, his hips moving on their own. Need boil inside of him, while his warm inner walls welcomed every push of his lover. His voice nothing but a constant desperate moan.

Lance grunted and let Keith take control of their movements. His eyes started to close as Keith moved a little faster and tightened around him, and one hand gripped his hip. The other slid along his chest and down to his stomach. “Ah!”

“Feels good!” Keith pulled at Lance’s hair as his wings flared up, the tell for what was about to happen.

“Ah!” Lance’s hips bucked and he came first, spilling into Keith with a loud moan.

Keith’s climax came a split second after Lance’s started. When he cried out his final wave of pleasure, Keith’s wings exploded into motes of light and flame, falling around the two lovers like so many flakes of red glowing snow.

Lance sank back into the loveseat and looked up at Keith, marveling at the way his skin glowed in his own light. He reached up and touched his cheek. “Are you ok?”

“Mmm.” Keith purred kissing his palm. His body still quivered in the aftershocks, and he thrilled to each one with a drunken moan as he watched Lance watch him. “I am. You?”

“More than ok.” Lance groaned as he pulled out of his lover. “Amazing as always, because of you.” He smiled a little and leaned in to nuzzle.

“Nng.” Keith groaned as Lance left him, blushing and hiding his face when he felt Lance’s desire drip down his thighs. He gasped and curled in tighter to his lover. “Maybe a shower?”

“Definitely a shower.” Lance whispered and held Keith a bit closer, one hand resting on the small of his back. “In a moment. We don’t have to move just yet, unless you want to.”

The smaller frame of Lance’s lover curled in a little tighter to the dragon’s chest, looking meeker and shrinking in size. “We can stay here. I like being held.”

“I like holding you, so it works out.” Lance chuckled and kept his arms around Keith, his lips nuzzling that soft black hair. “Thank you, by the way.”

“Hmm?” Keith cuddled in, his head slipping under Lance’s chin, his favored position since the first time he was held by him.

“For being with me.” Lance murmured into Keith’s hair. “For knowing how much I need you.”

“I need you as much as you need me.” Keith squeezed Lance a little tighter. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me as long as I can protect you.”

“It does matter.” Lance shook his head and sighed. “If anything happens to you, I don’t know what will happen to me.”

“We have this conversation a lot, you know.”

“I know.” Lance nuzzled Keith’s cheek. “And were going to keep having it until you stop saying that what happens to you doesn’t matter.” He pouted a little and closed his eyes. “Every time you say that, it sounds like you don’t value yourself, and that you’re putting me ahead of yourself, but I don’t want that. I want us to be together, equal. I know we do everything for each other, but I won’t sacrifice myself and leave you alone, not after you chose me.”

“Like there was any competition in the brass balls category?” Keith shifted, his body arching against Lance as he pulled his wings back in, letting them fade. “I’d do anything to keep you safe, sacrifice every last part of me as long as I had my eyes so I could still see you, a hand to touch you, an ear to hear you, a nose to smell you, and lips to kiss and taste you.” 

“But what about the rest of you? I love all of you. I want more than your eyes, your hands, your ears and nose and lips. I want all of you so I can hold you in my arms and curl against you when we sleep. I want to be able to see everything that makes you who you are.” Lance pouted. “You wouldn’t be happy with pieces of me, so don’t sacrifice yourself and only leave me pieces of you.”

“Lance,” Keith blinked up at him, blushing. “Am I that nice to hold?”

“Of course you are. Holding you is one of my favorite things to do.” Lance smiled a little and nuzzled his cheek. “It makes me feel whole.”

“Lance…” Keith swallowed. “If I disappear again, will it really be the last time?”

Lance’s expression hardened, and he held Keith as close as he could. “I don’t know,” he admitted. There was no reason not to be honest. “But that’s what I’m afraid of. That’s why I want to find whoever’s putting those ideas in your head…so they’ll stop.”

“If I ask, will you stop me? Whatever it takes?”

“I don’t want to hurt you, but yes…” Lance bowed his head and sighed, his hands trembling a little. “But it’ll damage you if you don’t listen… it’ll…”

“It might. It will hurt. It always does.” Keith ran his fingers though Lance’s hair. “I can’t be away from you, not again. Not after last time.” He sighed. “If they send people like Mizha to me while I’m like that, even I can’t help myself. So we have to do this. There’s no other way.”

Lance nodded a little, though even the fingers in his hair couldn’t calm him this time. “We have to find my chest.” He whispered. “If I have that, I can heal your pain and any damage it does…” his voice was soft and pained.

“I’m sorry you have to suffer for me.” Keith kissed his cheek. “More than I can say.” 

“I’d rather suffer and be with you than be alone and suffer more.”

“I know.” Keith kissed where he could reach. “I know.”

“So I’ll do it.” Lance pressed his face into Keith’s hair and sighed. “I’ll hate hurting you, but I’ll do it.”

“I’ll be thankful after…” 

“But you’ll hate me during it.” Lance shook his head slightly, not lifting it from Keith’s hair. “And you’ll forget me…”

“Don’t let me.” Keith looked up at Lance before he got up and walked over to the counter grabbing his phone. “This.” Keith came back to Lance, setting down against his chest as he aimed the phone, snapping a picture of them chest to back, Keith’s face nuzzled into Lance’s jaw. There would be no question about the intimacy of their relationship. “Here.”

Lance blinked at the flurry of motion, and the confusion must have showed on his face, so he took the phone from Keith and held it out, taking a few more pictures. Some with him smiling, some with him kissing Keith’s temple or the top of his head.

Keith laughed softly as they took some of the pictures and when he saw them he smiled. They looked genuine and happy, like any other picture of a pair of lovers. “This should help.”

“Yes. Too bad we didn’t have this before.” Lance managed a little smile, and he held Keith close. “But now I’m going to have to send you some ridiculously affectionate texts too, hm?” It did make him feel a little better. At the very least, this technology could keep Keith from being afraid of him if it ever came to that.

“Sappy gross ones? No dick pics. I’m already familiar with yours.” Keith flipped through the images. ”No sexting while I’m at work.”

“Give me some credit.” Lance pouted. “I wouldn’t try to turn you on when you’re at work and away from me…” he sighed. He didn’t like that idea either, but he couldn’t stop Keith from living his life. “When do you have to go back?”

“Eventually. Just not now.” Keith smiled, turning so he could touch those lips. “You can do it while I’m at home waiting for you. Getting me going so I’m ready when you walk in the door. Maybe naked in an apron, just for you.” He chuckled, trying to be a little playful.

“Hm…” Lance managed another little smile at the chuckle. “Would you like that?”

“If it turned you on? Of course. Imagine, coming home and having me on the counter.” Keith kissed him again. “You’ve done that before. But that was after working with me in the field.” Keith chuckled. “Remember taking me in middle of the corn rows?”

“I remember. I remember all the times I took you.” Lance touched Keith’s lips. “And how much you liked it.”

“Every time?” Keith kissed his fingers. “Tell me your favorite.”

“Impossible to choose.” Lance watched him. “I like them all.”

“Nothing stands out? Nothing particular romantic or sexy?” Keith licked his fingers.

“Well, you’re asking for one favorite out of hundreds of years?” Lance watched Keith’s lips and tongue. “All of them were sexy. A lot of them were romantic. And I enjoyed each and every time.” He grinned. 

Keith pouted. “So they were always the same?”

“Of course not, but I enjoyed them all. Didn’t you? Or do you have one favorite that’s better than all the rest?” Lance arched a brow. “For me, any time I bring you pleasure is my favorite. It doesn’t change, even if we’re in bed, or in a car, out on the field or in a cave. All of them are my favorite.”

Keith blinked the bowed his head. “Oh, is that how it’s supposed to work?” Keith fidgeted with Lance’s fingers. “I’m sorry.” 

“Why are you sorry?” Lance touched his lips. “What did you do that you have to be sorry?”

“I have a favorite. I didn’t know it was bad to have one.” Keith relied on Lance to provide guidance for the more human side of their emotions and the proper dos and don’ts. Keith thought he had them all down. 

“It’s not bad at all.” Lance shook his head and smiled softly. “I just don’t because there are so many I like, I don’t know how to choose one that’s my favorite.” He leaned in and kissed him. “Though I’m curious. What’s your favorite?”

Keith parted his lips to speak, then blushed hiding his face behind his hair. “You really want to know?”

“Of course I really want to know. You can’t tell me you have one and then not tell me what it is.” Lance pouted and poked one of Keith’s blushing cheeks. 

Keith turned his head into Lance’s hand. “Do you remember that time we were over the ocean. We were staying at a village shrine on the coast. The one held up by beams into the cliff side?”

Lance stroked his cheek and nodded. “Of course I remember. That was when you were in season, and we spent days intertwined.” He brushed his thumb over Keith’s lower lip. “We couldn’t get enough of each other, hm?” 

Keith shivered, his eyes darkening. “You were so beautiful in the moonlight. Silver and blue shimmering off your scales.”

“And you, like rays of sunshine in the darkest night.” Lance leaned in and kissed Keith’s temple, his eyes half closing. “So that’s your favorite?”

Keith nodded his head, eyes dreamlike and half opened like he was there on that out thrusted shrine. “Yes, That night felt like I could be completely taken in by you. I was your everything and I was every part of you. One being as if that’s how it was meant to be.”

“It was meant to be. It still is.” Lance murmured. “That’s a good favorite.” He nuzzled his hair a bit. “One of the best ones, for sure.”

“It was the first time you made love to me. Rather than just sex. I went into heat for you.” 

“For me, hm? Well it was amazing. And there’s also that first time when we were sent here. I was in pain, you were in pain, but we comforted each other.” Lance nuzzled again. “And you really showed me how much you loved me. So even if the sex wasn’t extravagant, you filled me with such love, that for that moment I felt like I deserved you.”

“You always deserve me.” Keith nuzzled. 

“I know, and I feel better about it now, but back then I didn’t deserve that much. But I won’t ever regret it or wish for anything less.” Lance nuzzled. “All right, we both seem to be calmer now, so why don’t we shower and go to bed? Before we make too much of a mess of this seat. I’ll already be cleaning the cushions…” He chuckled.

“Hold me a little longer?” Keith asked.

“I will hold you the whole time.” Lance reassured him.

“Mmm,” Keith leaned up and nuzzled at Lance’s horn.

“Oooh sneaky.” Lance let out a soft, almost purr of a growl before he stood, pulling Keith up into his arms. “Should I carry you, or can you walk?”

“However you want.” Keith curled into making his real answer obvious. “I’d like to go there again.”

“When this is all over, that’s the first place we’ll go.” Lance picked him up and carried him to the bathroom, keeping him in his arms even as he got them into the shower and started the water.


	9. What's in a Name?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
>  
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Keith swiped his hand over the mirror, clearing it of steam and leaving an arch of condensed water over the surface. He leaned over the sink, sticking his chin out and winced at the bruise still growing on the left side of his jaw. He’d survived worse. Hell, Keith had survived injuries that no human would have walked away from. If it hadn’t been for his godly constitution, he’d be dead ten times over by now. In his four hundred years of aimlessness, he was self-destructive. He found himself risky jobs or got into situations putting himself at the center of chaos. 

Keith knew his choices led him there, he wanted to help people. He wanted to protect those who lacked the power to do it for themselves. He hated watching innocents suffer, but the majority of being on earth was just that. Innocent suffering. Keith didn’t notice it himself until Seiryuu brought it the surface over millennia ago. Caring about the lives of others was never at the forefront. He had a job to do. Then the idiot eastern god butted into his life and offered him something he hadn’t had before. A heart. It was a simple thing. Most creatures had one. Most living things felt a level of compassion and empathy for other living things. Keith hadn’t, despite what Lance would say. ‘You’ve always had one. I just gave it a reason to beat.’ 

Well, a heart wasn’t the only gift Lance had given Keith. The water god gave him a stroke of vanity. He knew that because the bruise across his jaw annoyed him. Not because it hurt, but because it marked up the face Lance loved so much. Seiryuu enjoyed telling Keith how much he adored his looks, how beautiful or pretty the fire god was at any given time or in any given state of dress. The flattery didn’t give Keith an ego, but it certainly made him acutely aware of his appearance. Under the bruise Keith traced over a glowing character. The mansion for speed, the whole reason he had gotten the bruise in the first place. 

Xiao Sheng barely put up a fight. Pidge had found the smarmy god living in the back wastes of Las Vegas running a pawn shop. He came at them with some dime store back alley version of a katana. Hunk had dodged and as Keith proved cover for the tiny tiger goddess, he got the butt end of a hilt into his jaw. It would have been one thing to take a hit by someone with real skill, it was another to fall into a weapon. The fight was over after that. Keith dispatched the idiot god with little flare and Lance took care of the rest. 

“Something wrong pretty bird?” A thick, bubbling voice whispered in Keith’s ear. The hair on the back of his neck stood up from his skin. “I had to come see you for myself pretty bird. I never get the chance.” 

Keith gripped the edge of the sink, his breath coming out shallow and shaky. “Always making it so hard for everyone else. No matter how many times I make you fade, you keep coming back. What is the saying, pretty bird? You know it, yes? ‘Like an old penny’? but even a copper trinket has value to others. You have value only to me.” 

“You.” Keith hissed between his teeth staring into the drain. His head hurt. Blinding flashes of pain split down the inner side of his skull. They were lightning strikes, scarring rivets through the tender vulnerable part of his mind. He knew the presence wasn’t next to him, but he could feel it as surely as he felt each drip of water fall from hair to his back. He didn’t dare lift his head, animal instinct told him not to look into the mirror.

“Ooh, that’s not nice. I come all the way here and you can’t even look at me?” The voice became softer. Its alluring tone wrapping through Keith’s mind, gentle and warm. “Come love, don’t be like that. We’re old friends, you and I.” Keith fought the growing urge to obey and look up, his teeth grinding.

“I have always been there for you. Little bird. Always. When the gods tortured you, when they expelled you, when you made your home on earth, and when Seiryuu couldn’t even be bothered to give you the trinket you wanted so much…” A breath blew past Keith’s ear. “I see he finally gave it to you, but isn’t it too little too late? You’ve already been through too much. He doesn’t even know half of what you’ve done.”

“He knows enough to understand.” Keith snarled, fingers gripping the edge of the sink until his knuckles turned white. Drops of dark blood dripped down from Keith’s nose, dotting the bowl, and Keith finally looked up. His eyes blazing violet with crimson starting to rim over the edge of the lids.

“Such a scary look, Suzaku.” The pretty image in the mirror pouted at Keith. A rose red lower lip protruding out. Her painted white face and charcoal eyes watching him with obligatory apathy. 

“Well I can’t have this now. He’ll pick up on your scent. Dragons love the smell of their mate’s blood. Gets them a bit wild, if you hadn’t noticed. Such a dangerous lover you’ve chosen for yourself.” The woman in the mirror kissed the bite mark on Keith’s shoulder. He knew she wasn’t really there, he never felt her lips touch his skin but a chill rose up from the bite. “Though it appears you have.” Keith jerked his shoulder violently away from her reflected visage. No sooner did he break free that his body convulsed and froze a scream strangled to silence in his throat.

“Time you come to me love. I had hoped to take my time with this, but unfortunately I have to do my work quickly.” The woman’s hand came up to Keith’s cheek, crawling up from his neck. The bristle-like fur scraped over his skin as he watched her black, spider-legged fingers creep disjointedly over his face and into his hair. Keith took in a breath to scream for Lance, but as the first syllable escaped his lips, his world went white. Pain lashed in strikes over his blind vision, and then all at once came a sweet calming darkness. 

Somewhere he was aware of those spider shaped extremities slipping from the mirror. Some part of him knew it when they strummed their grip around his shoulders. Something was dragging through a doorway. Shocks and slithering chills rode over his skin as he passed through a portal, and then there was nothing.

 

He smelled it and heard it at the same time. Blood, and the faintest sound of Keith’s yell, hit Lance, and the dragon God’s head snapped up. A chill ran through his body and he tensed. Keith was in the bathroom, and he hadn’t been bleeding from their fight, so how? Under normal circumstances he would have thought nothing of it, but they weren’t normal, and that sound was abrupt and cut short. Lance knew better. With their previous battle still rolling in his dragon belly, he knew more than better. So with speed he didn’t know he possessed, he bolted to that bathroom and flung open the door. “Keith!” But there was no one there. An intense pain stabbed into his chest when he saw those drops of blood on the sink and that cracked mirror. Something or someone had taken Keith away from him again. Lance couldn’t stop it even though he had promised. 

Another sharp pain jabbed him in the chest and he clutched his shirt as he fell to his knees. Keith was gone. He broke his promise. A dragon’s promise was the ultimate surety, and even if this was beyond his control, it was still a broken promise. Lance screamed, the pain becoming more intense. He lost Keith. He couldn’t keep Keith from leaving him. He would never see Keith again. They took him. They won. 

He wanted to die.

The door to the RV flung open and a white-suited blond Asian man stood in the door way, out of breath, his hand gripping the ivory hilt of his sword. “What the hell was that? A gate opened?” Nizha stood straight, and walked into the RV his eyes darting over the small space until he was at Seiryuu’s side. His blue eyes glaring at the mirror before he snarled. 

“That damn spider woman. Meng-Po. She should never have left her hive.” He cursed in an array of languages.

Lance was still on his knees in the doorway of the bathroom. His screaming stopped at the presence of the other god and his head slowly turned to look at Nizha. “You…know who did this to us?” His voice was rough. “You…always knew?” Something flashed in his eyes and they changed, the blue lightening to the grayish shade of ice at the tail end of winter, the pupils stretching and thinning as they did when the beast started to take over. 

He slowly stood, the brown flesh around his neck started to pale, then darken again as the storm rolled inside him. Scales, the blue-black of the deepest oceans and most tempestuous skies, took the place of flesh. Their little scrap in Vegas had given him back his neck, and therefore his ability to control water and ice. Lance turned that cold stare to Nizha. He knew. Lance’s tear-stained cheeks looked misplaced on the face of a man who was losing himself to the monster inside.

“Where is he?” He would kill anyone who prevented him from being with Keith. Some mirror-bitch. Nizha. It didn’t matter. Someone had taken Keith. Someone had ripped half of his soul away from him, and he was a mess. He couldn’t stop it, but he needed to get him back. 

“Seiryuu, now is not the time for those questions.” Nizha adjusted his hat. “I did not expect her to be that impulsive.”

“Where is he?” Lance growled. He didn’t have time for this. The longer Nizha stood here talking at him, the longer Keith was away from him. “Where is she so I can kill her?”

“In her space. A space between gods and humans.” Nizha swore against under his breath as he looked over the mirror. “You can’t help him there. You’re not a god anymore.”

“So is that why you’re here? To tell me that’s it? That I can’t help him?” Lance snarled. “Going to kill me then too?” The cold began to take over the little bit of warmth he had left in his heart. Why the fuck was Nizha here if he was just going to tell him he couldn’t help Keith?

“How does Suzaku put up with you?” Nizha clicked his tongue. “I haven’t gone through all this to fail now! I just didn’t think the lot of you would be this useless!” Nizha growled and waved his hand over the mirror, it shimmered with a silver wave. “You can’t follow.” 

Lance’s eyes darkened even more, as if those black pupils swallowed any color left in his irises. There was nothing there as he stared at Nizha, but the low growl began in the back of his throat. “Useless?” His voice was soft, distant, but full of malice. “You barge into my home, insult me, tell me I can’t do anything, then complain about how useless I am?” He slowly rose to his feet, his neck shimmering as the temperature in the RV dropped. “If you’re not here to kill me, and all you’re going to do is insult me, then you’re not welcome here.” What were once black pupils were now thin lines of blood red. 

“I’m trying to help you damnit!” Nizha waved his hand to point out the glowing portal that appeared to be a physically ripped space in the empty air just before the mirror. “Do you want to fucking fight me or do you want me to go save your damn bird!?” Nizha snipped, not flinching. “The longer you snark at me the longer he’s with her!”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the one who came in here and just kept saying there was nothing I could do. You never once even remotely seemed like you were going to help.” Lance growled more. 

Was Seiryuu that daft? “I opened a damn portal! Right in front of you!” Nizha had his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“If you came here to help then fucking help instead of yelling at me for being useless!” Lance clenched his fists. “Don’t you think I already know I am? I’m a fucking waste. I can’t even help him! Just go!” Ice began to form, the condensed water around the mirror and the droplets still in the shower freezing as the dragon took more control.

Nizha stepped through the mirror, hearing the glass crack. The doorway was unstable. When the half-mad god pulled Keith into the void, she broke a taboo. Despite the power still residing his body, her victim was human per dogma. It stressed the gateway, making it unpredictable. If Nizha had brought Lance through, there was no telling what would happen, and if Nizha didn’t hurry, he’d be stuck here. While he could reopen recent portals, he wasn’t powerful enough on his own to create pathways. At least he could stick a foot in the door if he needed to. 

“Why are you here?” Meng-Po’s voice danced through the shapeless void as Nizha gained his ground. Around him, a suffocating nothingness. Formless, colorless, a realm between realms. Her lair.

“I’ve come for the boy. You are out of bounds Meng-Po.” Scratching sounds echoed though blackened deeps, damp and heavy like a distorted drip in a cave.

“You are the one who is over their head, Nizha! How could you forgive what they did to poor Xiao or to your brother? This little one is mine. Now. I’ve had him for centuries. I cannot let anyone else have him! It wouldn’t be right.” 

“Meng-Po! This isn’t who you are!” Nizha yelled to the darkness. “They twisted you! You were not to be this way. None of us were.” 

“They gave me purpose!” She spat, the void rippled with her anger, and for a moment Nizha heard Keith. It was soft, but he heard the pained moan. He turned toward the sound and ran forward, his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword. 

“This is not purpose! Suzaku!! Can you hear me!?” There was another ripple and a louder cry. The darkness beside him waved. Nizha stopped and with a deep breath he squared his shoulders. He sliced through the void, his sword glowing like the midday sun as the fabric of space ripped and tore like broken webs.

Behind the astral curtain, Meng crouched over the trembling body of the dark haired southern god. Sweat beaded and dripped on his furrowed brow, blood smeared his cheeks from his nose and eyes, and his ears were coated in the thick crimson liquid. The idiot was really fighting this time. 

“Let him go Meng. He’s suffered enough.” Nizha took a few wary steps forward. 

“I’m easing it! I’m erasing what makes him suffer! He was given to me! I took care of him. I loved him!” Nizha froze watching the woman crawl over Keith. Her fingers jerking disjointedly as they spread over his face. “It was my curse they invoked. My poison they used to erase him, to ease him. He belongs to me. But they always failed, they never did it right. After 400 years I had him, had them both at my gate but they never came though. I was denied what was rightfully mine.” 

“It really had been you? All this time? I had suspicions, but I never actually thought…” Nizha thought back to the beautiful goddess who waited at living gates. She was the one whose drink made the reincarnated soul forget their previous lives, but allowed them to live on in dreams. She was a nurturing spirit. Every soul that passed through her walls was her child being born into the world.

“He was to be mine, you know.” Nizha blinked out of his stare and focused on her face rather than her arachnid fingers. “It made sense. He is death and rebirth. He the father of the souls and I the mother. The great phoenix. The gods had ordained it. Suzaku was to be given to me, and I could have been his heart, but that stupid dragon!” The world rumbled. “The stupid dragon came and just took Suzaku. He ruined him! If I erase Seiryuu completely then I can be given what I was owed.” 

“Meng-Po, if that’s how you see things, you never could have been happy aligned with Suzaku. They used you. They fed you stories, demented you.” Nizha shook his head, his hat falling to the ground letting his bangs fall around his face. 

“You know this isn’t right!” He shouted. “You’re killing him, and if you do that, if you take away the southern god, then were all dead.”

“You don’t understand!” Meng kicked off Keith’s body, and lunged for Nizha. 

“No, not like this.” The former human sighed, shaking his head. He knew the outcome of this fight before he stepped through the portal, he’d just hopped it wouldn’t come to this. Fighting was not what the goddess was meant for. It was like ripping a tail off a lizard, and he felt no pleasure or pride as his sword blazed into her side, skewering Meng-Po in place. 

“I don’t have to understand.” His fingers slid along the edge of the blade until they slipped into the soft warm flesh of her wound, ignoring her cries of agony as he widened the injury and pulled a small glowing root back out. “All I need to know is what I must do. I can allow you a turn to rest.” He leaned up and kissed the goddess’ forehead before letting her fall. 

Nizha stepped over the Meng-Po’s prone body and leaned over Keith, eyeing the half-dressed god with a sigh. “You would have been so pissed to see yourself like this back then.” He pressed the root inside Keith’s chest and stumbled back as the bird’s body lifted and jerked. 

The small immortal folded in over his stomach, convulsing and crying out. Light as pure as the whitest starlight shot from his eyes. Pulses of power emanated from him. Three heartbeats carrying a wave of light cut through the air like scythe. Nizha watched as the black melted from Suzaku’s hair leaving it to shine as the purest silver, wings stretching out skyward, blinding with pure white flame. This was the power of purification.

“Suzaku,” Nizha, torn between awe and reverence, slacked his jaw as Suzaku stood statue still, blazing like a beacon in the void. Slowly Keith’s head turned to him and his voice came from nowhere yet everywhere. Words were not spoken but the lesser god knew what was being expressed. Sorrow, and the human god could see tears of radiance pool and fall forward from his eyes, and Nizha knew. 

“All right,” When the light faded and Keith’s body fell hard to the ground, his wings gone and his hair back to the ebony locks. Nizha gathered him, and the still breathing Meng, up hoisting them onto his shoulders. Keith’s wave had done what was meant to do. It rid Meng of the taint of corruption. Her hands were once more delicate and beautiful like the rest of her, but it was all too little too late. 

Nizha walked through the gate and laid Keith down against the wall of the hallway and dispassionately deposited Meng at Lance’s feet. “Do what you will.” 

Lance had no idea how much time had passed. The pain in his chest just kept pulsing over and over like some form of a deranged heartbeat. With each surge, Lance’s breathing became more labored. The noises that escaped his throat were less human, and the red slit pupils of his now black eyes seemed to glow. The scales on his neck darkened and spread, and the sharp edges dug into the unprotected flesh of his chest. But the pain from those shards was nothing like the failure that was breaking Lance from the inside.

So he had no idea how much time passed when that first scent of Keith’s blood hit his nose. He was not even aware of any other presence as that scent grew stronger. There was movement, a thud at his feet, and a voice, but all that mattered was Keith. He growled and scrambled over to his prone body, coiling around him as best as his human form would let him. His tongue came out and cleaned that blood from Keith’s cheeks and jaw. With each taste the pain subsided until it was just a dull throb. His growling calmed. There was some sort of murmur of a thank you to Nizha, but Lance wasn’t sure whose voice it was. 

He spent another moment curled over Keith before he turned and looked at the woman Nizha had dropped at his feet earlier. She was still alive, writhing in agony. The growls started again as he moved, crawling over to her and grinning when the recognition flashed in her eyes. This Seiryuu that was about to devour her whole was not the gentle god of the East who brought soothing rain or calming waters. This was a Seiryuu none of them had seen before. He was the darkness of the deep ocean, the violence of a typhoon. He snarled as he reached out and touched that deceptively beautiful face. “You took him from me.” The voice was not Lance’s. It was much more primal. “You hurt him.” His teeth sharpened as he spoke. “You ruined me.” She didn’t even have time to scream before she was gone. Blood coated Lance’s lips and chin as the horns on his head grew from tiny little nubs to long, sharp appendages. 

Lance’s eyes turned up to Nizha. The blue was back, and the red was gone, but there was no kindness there. “You should go.”

Nizha had looked away, his hand over his mouth. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Mercy? No, these two were beyond that. Did Seiryuu know the depths of Meng-Po’s pain? Did he care? Why did it seem that the more compassion Suzaku gained the less Seiryuu had?

“I’ll go. Take care of him. I don’t know how far the damage goes… call the others.” Nizha nodded his head and tipped his hat back into place on his head.

Lance looked up at Nizha as he sat up. “I know you never wanted this.” He said quietly as he took a moment to stand. His voice might have seemed gentle, but his eyes still did not reflect any sympathy. They couldn’t. “I won’t apologize for what I said to you, but I am sorry they made you get involved.” He turned from Nizha and scooped Keith up into his arms. The loving, gentle expression was back, and the hardness in his eyes softened when he looked at the unconscious man. “Thank you for bringing him back to someone as useless as me.” He sighed and carried Keith into the bedroom, gently laying him on the bed and pushing some of that sweat-matted hair from his face. 

Nizha turned to leave but closed his eyes. “No matter what people say. I’m glad it was you. You may have ruined the solider, but you gave him a life. Hold on to that.”

Lance said nothing, but there was a slight growl of acknowledgment of those words. He carefully pulled the blankets over Keith and sighed. All of his dragon features disappeared as he got onto the bed next to his lover, watching him.

Keith’s brow furrowed and quivered in the shadows of pain. The unconscious body groaned with as his flesh became chilled to the touch, losing the warm rosy flush.

“I’ll see ya around.” Nizha left the two alone, hoping Lance had enough sense to call for Byakko.

Lance’s eyes widened and he got under the covers with Keith, pulling him into his arms. “I’m sorry.” He whispered into his hair.

The fire god began to shiver, his body curling into the other for warmth. 

It wasn’t working. Lance reached out for his phone and held Keith closer as he sent Hunk a text. ‘I failed. Bring Pidge. Don’t tell Shiro yet.’ He put the phone down and held Keith as close to his body as he could. 

They arrived in seconds, Hunk smiling sadly at Lance as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Hey buddy, don’t be so down yet. Wait until Pidge gets a good look at him.”

Lance barely nodded but kept holding Keith, hiding his eyes from the others. 

Pidge moved to the other side of the bed, checking Keith and moving him to do so without pulling him away from Lance.

“You both are aware that I deal with tech not people. I’m not a doctor.” Pidge said even as she moved Keith’s head gently, one white and black stripped tiger ear ticking in annoyance. “This was Seiryuu’s specialty not really mine,”

“But You always figure it out.” Hunk smiled as he rested a hand on Lance’s back.

“If I knew more about what happened… maybe?”

“The mirror. She took him.” Lance slumped. “I failed. Nizha got him back.”

“Nizha?” Hunk wrinkled his nose up a little, he thought he picked up the scent of another god here, and now that made sense. “Like how did he even know what was going on? He monitoring or something?”

Pidge’s feline ears perked up. “If Keith was dragged through a mirror he probably sensed the presence or a disturbance in the force, if you will.” She smirked a little. There was always room for a Star Wars pun. “But he is most likely monitoring our progress.”

“Umm isn’t that bad? He’s an enemy.” Hunk kept his hand on Lance’s shoulder. He wanted the other dragon to know he was there, that someone understood what he was going through. Little can come between a dragon and their treasure. Keith was Lance’s treasure, his pride, and it had been taken right from under his nose. Nothing could be said to ease the pain of that sensation. “So, how is Keith?”

“My professional, non-doctor opinion? He’s alive. Appears to be breathing. The damage done won’t be something I can assess until he wakes up, but for now let’s be happy with what we have.” Pidge smiled at Lance. “No matter what happens we’ll do everything we can, okay?”

It was then that Lance’s tears came, sliding down his cheeks in uninterrupted streams. “When…he wakes up, he won’t remember me.” His voice was quiet, but it trembled, and he clenched his fists until his knuckles were white. “He won’t know me at all. He won’t…” He slumped against Hunk. “And Shiro…will be so angry at me for failing…my promises…”

The larger man blinked and rested his other hand on Lance’s other shoulder, trying to steady him when he fell into him. That explained a lot as well. A dragon’s promise was like his lifeline. If broke, it was even worse than something happening to a treasure. He looked over at Pidge, at Keith, at Lance, and back at Pidge again. “We won’t call Shiro until he wakes up and we can be more sure, right?”

Pidge nodded slowly and motioned for Hunk to put Lance back in the bed. “We’ll stay until that happens.” 

“And if it is the case that he forgets,” Pidge continued as the bigger god laid Lance back and pulled the blankets up around his chin like a doting mother. “You’ll just do what you’ve done before. Wait for him to remember you. It’s going to be harder this time because you’ve never seen it happen. Have you?” Pidge brushed her fingers through Keith’s hair as the god rested. She hated seeing her friend like this, but it wasn’t the first time, and if everything goes how they planned it could finally be the last. “It’s just one more challenge. One more fight to win. He wouldn’t back down, so we shouldn’t either, right? So let’s not give up.”

“No, I haven’t… He always just came back…” Lance curled up to Keith again, the tears still falling. He closed his eyes as though that would stop them, but it didn’t seem to. 

Hunk stepped back and took Pidge’s hand, gently tugging her away from the bed. “We can at least make them something to eat once Keith wakes up hm?” He smiled and carefully led her out of the bedroom, his voice low. “Lance is going to have more of a difficult time than usual…we should be careful for the next few days.”

“Of course.” Pidge replied her voice soft as she walked with Hunk to the kitchen. “But he can’t give in to it. If he does…” Her voice trailed off. “At least they are together this time. At least he knows that Keith never left him willingly. That has to help something, right?”

“I hope so.” Hunk sighed and started rummaging through the kitchen to see what he could make for them. “But it might not. Not if Nizha had to rescue Keith. It would depend on a lot of things. Lance has never been good at letting things roll off his scales when it comes to Keith. And this time, it’s more than his pride that’s damaged.” He pulled some food out of the fridge and started the stove. 

“I know. But how long do we keep this from Shiro?” Pidge looked up from where she rested her chin in her palm.

“We at least need to wait until he wakes up and we see just how bad it is. It’d be worse if we tell him before and he comes here doing that whole angry worry thing he does.”

“Yeah.” Pidge tapped her cheek and sighed. 

 

He felt cold, and warm. It was like he was sick, but not. Like he wanted to only lay where he was and sleep. He could do that right? No one would bother him if he did. No commands, no fighting, no blood. He could just sleep. Gods did that all the time. They would just sleep for eons and never stir. He knew for a fact there were gods all throughout the world, so ancient no one remembered them any more save a few texts and they just slept. He could do that too, right? No, he had to wake up. He had to move. Something was pulling at his consciousness and it was starting to hurt. His whole body hurt. 

“Nnmg.” Keith whimpered, shifting in those arms, pain filled indigo eyes fluttered open. Even the light hurt. 

Lance’s eyes snapped open, the tears still fresh on his cheeks. He had been holding Keith the past few hours, and the entire time those drops of sorrow never stopped. But he was awake now, and that was a good thing, right? “Keith?” He shifted and leaned over him to look down at him, eyes wide, brows furrowed. “Are you okay?”

Keith stared blankly in front of him. Nothing was in focus for him yet. “Nm?” His hand lifted to touch the blur over him. It was flesh, it was warm. He felt the distinct features of a human face. A young one, with boyish cheeks but a man’s sharp jaw line. What language was that? Had he heard it before? How should he reply? It was a question right. God his head hurt. 

“D..dare ga?” Keith whispered in the last language he could remember using. 

Those tears had finally started to dry when Keith woke, but now they fell again, and Lance took that hand and held it to his cheek, closing his eyes, trying to control the emotions storming within him. Keith couldn’t see, or at least his eyes had looked unfocused in that brief moment he was looking at him. And that voice…that language they hadn’t spoken since they were banished. Or at least he hadn’t. He sighed and opened his eyes again, though tears dripped against Keith’s hand and off Lance’s cheek. 

“Daijoubu?” He never really wanted to speak it again, but here he was, trying to do anything he could to communicate with his love. If it meant torturing himself, he would do it.

“Mi nai.” Keith said, his voice timid. His fingers continued to search over his companion’s face, and he blinked when he touched the wetness there. “Namida ka?” He caught them up, and rubbed his thumb over the tear flushed skin. Who was this person crying for him? There was a gentle warmth to him, something Keith wanted to curl into. He thought it might have been Genbu, but Genbu would never cry like this, and would never hold him like this. 

“Doushite?” Keith blinked a few more times trying to clear his vision to no avail. 

Lance winced at Keith’s words. He knew the other man couldn’t see, but those questions just proved that he didn’t remember him either. If he did, he wouldn’t need to ask. So he simply shook his head and kept holding Keith’s hand to his cheek. He knew not to make any strange or sudden movements. But he sighed a little and called out. “Pidge…? Can you come in here?” He knew in his current state, Keith wouldn’t understand. Maybe that was better.

Pidge’s ear quirked up at Lance’s pained call, and she glanced at Hunk before she pushed from the counter top and walked into the bedroom. She didn’t ask any questions as she assessed the room. She figured out by the blank look in Keith’s eyes and from the way his fingers moved over Lance’s face at least one problem. 

“This is pretty typical.” Pidge sat down on the side of the bed and look Keith over. “He sustained a fair amount of brain damage while she was messing with his head. I did some research, and Meng-Po could pinpoint memories and disconnect the synapses.”

Keith flinched at the new voice and pulled his hand away from the unknown face, but curled into that person out of instinct. These people sounded so strange! It was like the barbarians from the far north or the west. Garbled language with no elegance or rules. “Nanda? Dare!?” 

Pidge blinked and looked at Lance then back down to Keith, her small hand touching his forehead. “Daijoubu. Kimi wa Suzaku. Boku wa Byakko.” She pushed her fingers into his hair and continued to explain in flawless Japanese that he was hurt and they were trying to help him. 

“Aa, domo.” Keith laid back in the bed, tension leaving him. Those blank eyes looked up at Lance again. “Dare ga?”

Pidge smiled softly and continued to explain to Lance. She wasn’t ignoring Keith’s inquiry, she simply didn’t trust the right answer.

“So, the good news is everything is still where it should be. The bad news is, is that it’s probably going to take some time for the synapses to reroute. His language core should repair itself naturally. The memories aren’t gone, he’s just locking access.”

Lance listened, but his shoulders slumped throughout the explanation. He only managed a nod and stood, ignoring Keith’s question. “I can’t…” He looked at Pidge helplessly before he just walked out of the room, past Hunk, and up to the top bunk of the RV, pulling the blankets over himself.

Pidge sighed and shook her head a little before gently resting her hand on Keith’s forehead. Time to experiment. 

“Kare wa Seiryuu.” She whispered, watching his face for any reaction. 

“Seiryuu?” Keith blinked a few times. He knew the name, of course he did. He was one of five celestials. He was… Keith winced grabbing his head as blood started to drip from his nose. His body arched up from the bed as a cry built up in his throat, both hands holding his head as he thrashed in pain.

“Hunk! Sedative! Now!”

Hunk darted into the room and looked panicked. “Sedative?! Where?!”

“Just find something!” The small goddess was holding Keith’s shoulders down to the bed, her sleeve in the boy’s mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. 

“Hunk!”

With that last cry there was a crack and Keith fell silently to the bed with Hunk’s hand still against his collar.

Lance was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, the blankets from the top bunk wrapped around him like a hooded cloak as he watched the scene unfold. “This is my fault…” He stared at them all, his eyes wide.

Pidge shook her head and gently wiped the blood off Keith’s face once she tucked him in. “No, Lance, you can’t blame yourself for this.”

“But I can. I did this.” There was a slight shrill sound to his voice and he slowly backed out of the room. “I…I should go. I shouldn’t be here.” He dropped the blanket and kept backing towards the door of the RV. “He’ll die if I’m here…”

“He’ll die if you leave.” Hunk whispered. “If you run, won’t they win?”

“Just…I…” Lance hesitated. “But…”

“What would he want, Lance?” Pidge lifted far too wise eyes to Lance’s face.

“…Not me. Not like this.” Lance’s head bowed and he sighed. “He…can’t remember me. When he does, it hurts him and he bleeds from his face…How am I supposed to watch that?”

“Give it time. We don’t know for sure if that’s the case. Let’s call Shiro.” Pidge smiled softly.

Lance picked the blanket up and sighed. “Do what you want.” And he climbed back up to that bunk and curled as far into the corner as he could.

Hunk sighed and shook his head. “I got it.” He stepped out of the RV to call Shiro, calmly explaining what happened. When he finished the call, he went back inside and to the bedroom. “He’ll be here as soon as he can, I’m sure he’s breaking just about every traffic law there is.”

The thirty minutes it took Shiro to get to the RV felt like ages. He’d left the group only a day ago to investigate another of Pidge’s leads. He’d just made a breakthrough and had been about to call Keith when fate had a different plan. Dread filled him the second he saw Hunk’s name flash on his caller ID.

The world had always been a heartless cruel bitch, and Shiro was getting a first row seat to what the bitch could really do.

When he got to the RV he let himself in, but instead of rushing to Keith’s side, he found the bundled up Seiryuu hiding as a child does from monsters in the closet. Keith was resting with Pidge. He’d be fine for now. “Hey.” He started softly as he climbed up to the bunk and sat on the edge of the bed.

Lance heard Shiro climb up, but he stayed hidden in the blanket. He didn’t peek his head out, but he manage a soft “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Shiro asked softly. 

“It’s my fault. I failed. I couldn’t protect him. He hurts because of me…” Lance whimpered and tried to curl more into himself.

“How? It could have happened to any of us.” Shiro sighed. “It did happen to all of us. I spoke with Nizha on my way in. Meng-Po went rogue from what he tells me. You couldn’t have known. We all assumed he was safe because they needed what he knows.” 

Lance tensed at the mention of Nizha and Meng-Po. A low, but pathetic growl started in his throat but stopped almost as quickly. “I failed…I couldn’t protect him…”

“That has yet to be seen. He still sleeping. At least he’s here rather than missing for four hundred years.” Shiro rubbed Lance’s back. “And we are all here to help.”

“His face started to bleed when he heard my name.” Lance sighed and tried to pull the blankets in more, seemingly trying to pull away from Shiro’s comfort as well. He didn’t deserve it, and Shiro didn’t know what he was talking about. Shiro wasn’t the useless one. Shiro wasn’t the one who couldn’t do anything. Shiro wasn’t the one who was losing the battle with himself. “He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t remember me. He can’t even hear my name. I failed.”

“Then give him a new name.” Shiro sighed. “It might not be ideal, but just until you can heal him. He’s worth getting to know again isn’t he?”

Lance poked his head out from the blanket and looked at him. Tears stained his cheeks, and his eyes were red and puffy. “A new name?” He seemed confused for a moment, but then his eyes widened. “Oh…” he sighed and looked down. He didn’t even think of that. He really was useless. “What if I’m not worth it?”

“After all this time you still have questions like that? You knew this day could happen. You two were making those videos for a week!” Shiro sighed. “It’s just earlier than what you wanted. It slows us down when we need the most momentum. Keith is a victim of strategy. Meng-Po would never have done anything to permanently damage Suzaku. Nizha said she went rogue, but I don’t buy it. The timing is too perfect. So for now, just be Lance. Don’t worry about Seiryuu. Make Keith fall in love with who you are now.”

Just be Lance. Did Shiro know what he was asking? Lance was nothing. Lance was just a stupid shell that housed a broken god. Lance was nothing without Seiryuu. Did Shiro want him to be nothing? Did Shiro think that was best? “But I’ve never seen it before.” Lance looked down and tried to avoid Shiro’s stare. “I’ve never seen just how much pain he was in because he always just left.” He trembled a little. His eyes closed. “I knew it could happen, but I thought if I was with him it wouldn’t…I promised…” 

“You didn’t break any promises. He’s here. He’s still with you. It might not be perfect, but isn’t better here than out there? Think of him waking up in a place we can’t reach him, like he had all those times before. You’re already making this something different.” Shiro smiled as warmly as possible. “You’re everything to him. He wouldn’t forget you so easily. You’re always a part of him, right?”

Lance sighed. ”I did break a promise, even if it wasn’t on purpose. I wasn’t the one who could do anything to protect him. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t save him.” He lifted a hand from the blanket and clutched over his chest. “My punishment. It hurts every time it beats.” He looked up at Shiro with so much pain in his eyes. “I want to be optimistic, but this time I just can’t. I’m a failure, and I’m useless, and I’m not sure he’ll love me again. I don’t deserve it. I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but you haven’t seen him yet.”

“I’ll go see him as soon Pidge gives the all clear.” Shiro smoothed his hand over Lance’s back. “Right now, you need someone to look out for you. Keith has Pidge and Hunk mothering him right now.”

“Just Pidge,” Hunk’s voice came from below. “She’s going to spend the night in there to keep an eye on him. You two should get some sleep too.”

Lance sighed and curled up a little more, almost impossibly so given how tall he was and how long his legs were. There was no way he could sleep, not with everything happening, but he knew Shiro wouldn’t stop trying to comfort him until he tried. 

“I will stay up here with you. Don’t worry.” Shiro seemed to sense what Lance was thinking, and he settled back next to him. Of course the dragon didn’t want to talk anymore. He was emotionally and mentally exhausted, and it was clear. Plus, if Shiro was here, Lance couldn’t sneak out and run away. 

They remained like that for several hours. Lance could hear every subtle shift in the RV. Pidge was drifting in and out of consciousness in the bedroom with Keith, though at some point she left to wash Keith’s blood from her hands before going back inside again. Hunk was snoring on the loveseat down below. Shiro was awake the entire night, but he was silent, the only indicator of his state being the way he breathed. It wasn’t the relaxed breathing of someone blissfully unaware of the waking world. 

But they could only feign sleep as long as the sun was down. As soon as the light filtered into the RV, Hunk was up and making breakfast, the smell of eggs and bacon filling the room. Shiro sat up and looked over at Lance. “Once Pidge gives me the okay, I’m going to check on Keith.”

Lance remained curled up under his blanket, his voice tired and strained. “He only understands Japanese right now. And he can’t see. Maybe that’ll change when he wakes up again, but…” He sighed once more.

“It can and has.” Pidge yawned as she came out of the bedroom. “He can understand English now and doesn’t seem as confused. His vision is back, just a bit foggy. He woke up for a moment, but he’s sleeping again.”

Lance seemed to crumble more out of relief than anything else. “I’m…going to stay up here a while…”

Shiro breathed out a long held breath. “It’s a start—” the elder god cut himself off, seeing a slumped form loom behind Pidge. “Suzaku…” Shiro hopped down from the bunk and moved to catch the slight frame before he could hit the floor. Pidge squawked and pressed her body up to the wall. 

“Damnit Keith! I’ll tie you down next time!” She yelled.

“Sorry, I smelled something good and got restless.” The voice was weak and tired, yet filled with the same force of will Suzaku always had. 

“Yeah well my cooking is that great.” Hunk beamed. “I coulda brought it to you.”

“Felt like moving a little.”

“If moving meant falling face first to the ground, you’re off to a good start.” Shiro hugged the small body to him. “Idiot You can’t scare us like that.”

“G-genbu? You’re here?” Keith blinked his eyes confused obviously trying to make a connection.

“Shiro. I’m Shiro now like you’re Keith.” 

Lance shrank back against the corner and once again hid himself entirely in his blanket. He didn’t want to hear this. He didn’t want the affirmation that Keith remembered everyone but him. He couldn’t handle it.

Hunk glanced up at the bunk, frowning just a bit before he shook his head and cleared his throat. “Well the food is almost done.” He raised his voice just loud and annoying enough to hint that they should stop that particular line of conversation. 

“I’ll take him back to bed, he can barely sit up right. Someone will bring dinner in.” Shiro held his face in the boy’s hair holding him closer as a father might soothe a child. 

“Shiro,” Keith blinked but sighed. Knowing he was going to lose the argument. 

Pidge looked up at the bunk and nodded. “Tie him down if you have to. I explained a few details about what we are doing here, and that there’s another person here helping. We can work on formal introductions later.”

“It won’t overload me.” Keith pouted even as Shiro hoisted him up. “And I don’t need to be babied!”

“Live with it for now.” Shiro took the younger god into the bedroom and laid him down. “You really are a magnet for bad luck aren’t you?”

Lance slowly came down from the bunk when he heard Shiro and Keith go into the other room. He pulled the blanket off his head, but he kept it draped around his shoulders. “Thanks.” He managed. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to handle this…” He sighed. “I feel like I don’t belong.” He sat in a chair and rested his arms on the table, sighing once more before resting his head on his arms. “I don’t want to be introduced. I want him to remember me…”

“We all want that.” Hunk said placing some food in front of Lance. “But this is what we get. It’s not a total loss. He’s here, Lance. With us. That’s gotta count right?”

“Hunk, let Lance get it out. It’s not that simple for him.” Pidge patted Lance’s arm. “But we won’t know anything until he meets you.”

“You can say that because he doesn’t forget you, Hunk. Remembering you won’t cause him to bleed out of his nose.” Lance whimpered and calmed a little at Pidge’s touch. “It’s not your fault he’s like that. You’re not useless.” He sighed. “What if I ruin him more? What if he never remembers?”

“You’re not useless. Do you remember how he was before you?” Pidge urged. “You gave him something that he’s never lost.”

“Pidge is right. In all those times of lost memories he’s never returned to that scary dude. He’s our Suzaku still, because he has the heart you gave him.”

Pidge smiled softly. “And that heart is always yours. Even when he doesn’t know you, he’s always searching for you.”

Lance looked at them and pouted. “But I can’t save him. I can’t keep him safe. I can’t…” he shook his head and looked down at the food and poked at it. “I’m sorry. I’m just having a hard time. I know this isn’t like me. I almost lost myself yesterday.”

“What? What happened?” Hunk sat next to him and exchanged a worried glance with Pidge.

“Nizha…he set me off, and I felt myself changing. I could feel my scales cutting into my skin. There’s still dried blood all over my chest and back…”

“You always save him, and he saves you. It’s what you guys are.” Pidge closed her eyes. “If you lose yourself at this stage in the game, then he has no hope.” 

“He was curled into you when I came into the room. That’s not how someone lays with a stranger. Part of him knows you.”

Lance winced a little at the mild scolding. “It’s not like I did it on purpose...” he shook his head and poked at the food. “I’m trying. He’s never forgotten me even after still coming back, so I don’t know how to behave. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. You’re hurting and in pain. You’re allowed to feel how you do. You’ve suffered a lot.” Pidge smiled softly.

Lance nodded a little. “Thanks Pidge…” he tried to smile, but he couldn’t. Even as Hunk clapped a supportive hand on his shoulder. 

Shiro walked back into the room and looked a little strained. “You don’t have to, but would you like to bring food over to him, Lance?”

Lance looked like he was about to decline, but then he nodded and stood, taking the plate he hadn’t touched and carrying it silently into the bedroom. Even with the blanket still on his shoulders, he balanced the plate and walked to Keith’s side of the bed. He popped open the wall panel and pulled down a tray, which clicked into place, and he put the plate on it. “Do you want anything to drink?” His voice was quiet, and he couldn’t really look at him. 

“Hmmm?” Keith opened his eyes and stared up at Lance. He knew this man, he knew his scent. He liked it. It felt safe but in a different way then how Shiro felt safe. “Yesterday, that was you with me?” Keith got up on his elbows with a small wince.

“Don’t sit up if it hurts, and yes.” Lance winced when Keith winced. He glanced away and shook his head. “Do you want anything to drink?” This was so difficult.

“Water, I’ll have water.” Keith laid back against the pillows. Had he done something to this guy? He seemed to be itching to get out of the room. Was this really the same guy who held him so warmly? “What was your name?”

Lance sighed a little and shook his head. “S—Lance...I’m...I was your boyfriend, but…” he shook his head again. “I’ll bring you some water.” He turned and left the room before he could see Keith’s reaction, saying nothing to the others as he got a glass and quietly filled it in the sink. He was already hating himself for saying too much, and he didn’t want the inevitable scolding that would come from the others. 

“My- wait?!” Keith darted up in the bed wincing as his world spun with sharp stabs of pain riding from his skull down to his spine. “Hey!” Keith yelled whimpering right after. 

Lance rushed back in with the water. “Don’t hurt yourself!” He put the glass down on the tray and pushed Keith to lay back down. “Please stop getting hurt!” 

“Well don’t say shit like that and bolt out of the room!” Keith let Lance lay him back on the bed as he pouted up at the man. “So, my boyfriend?” Keith asked, his eyes searching.

“Used to be… you don’t remember, so not anymore.” Lance looked off to the side. His eyes were still red from crying, and there were clear tear-tracks on his cheek. “It’s more important that you rest and heal… so when you feel up to it, eat the food Hunk made.” He did his best to keep his voice steady, but as he spoke, his eyes started to water again.

Keith blinked several times. “I’m sorry.” He lowered his eyes. “I wish I could remember, Pidge told me I’ll have issues with it for a while but she didn’t mention a whole person.” Keith sighed and shook his head. “Lance though, right? You have a good scent. I like it”

“Yeah…” Lance looked at him, then at the tray before he shook his head. “Please rest and eat…”

“It’s hard for you to be around me.” Keith pointed out, always the expert on intuition. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s not hard to be around you…” Lance bowed his head. “But I don’t know how to be around you. I’ve already told you too much and you got hurt…it wasn’t fair of me to tell you that. I’m sorry.”

“Everyone else is treating me like glass, it was nice to hear something straight forward.” Keith pulled his knees up to his chest and looked around the trailer. “And this is your home?”

Lance hesitated, but he nodded. “Yes.” He turned his head and looked out the window. “Well… ours.”

“Ours? It smells like you. Feels cozy.”

“Well mine then ours…” Lance kept looking out the small window, but after a moment he turned back to look at him. “I don’t know what you mean by that, but I guess it’s a good thing?”

“I think so.” Keith sat silently for a moment and watched Lance. He was actually pretty good looking. Slender and lean muscled. Dark skin and short sandy brown hair. If Lance was his boyfriend, Keith admitted he had pretty good taste, but this guy could barely look at him. Whatever Keith did to him must have been pretty bad.

“Do you want to go?”

“I don’t know…” Lance admitted, pulling his blanket around his shoulders a bit more. He had to look like some sort of depressive mess, mostly because he was. “I don’t know what Pidge explained to you, but…all of this is my fault, and my guilt is overwhelming me at the moment.” He looked down and sighed. “And what I want and what I deserve are so conflicting, there isn’t much I can do or say that isn’t negative. You don’t deserve to have to deal with that.” 

“Will being away from me help?” Keith looked up at him, those too large eyes clear and looking so innocent as he laid in the same bed they both occupied the day before.

Lance shook his head a little. “No. It won’t. I don’t want to be away from you, but you don’t know me. You know Pidge, and Hunk, and Shiro, but not me.” Tears formed in his eyes again. “And because you don’t know me, you can’t love me. And if you can’t love me…” He shook his head. “I’m scared you never will again.”

“I know them. But not how they know me.” Keith looked around and sighed. “It’s only been a few hours… or maybe a day. I don’t know. But It’s like knowing shadows.” He turned his head back to Lance and cocked it to the side. “Should I know you how I know them? I was with them in heaven… before I got sent down here.”

“I know. I know it hasn’t been that long. I know I’m impatient.” Lance wrinkled his nose a little at the last line of questioning. He knew he couldn’t answer that without hurting Keith, so he simply shook his head. “We know each other in a different way than the way you know them. I don’t want you to know me the way you know them because then it means I’d only ever be your friend…” He looked at him and hesitated a bit, but reached out a hand to touch one of Keith’s cheeks. “I want to be your everything again, but I won’t force myself on you…” He slowly pulled that hand back. “You should eat and rest. Your phone is on the side table if you get bored. Sorry there’s no TV in here…”

Keith didn’t move when Lance touched his cheek. The man appeared to need physical contact with him, and Keith just allowed it to happen. It didn’t bother him to be touched by Lance. It was a cool feeling even as his cheeks felt like they were burning. He turned his head to the phone and picked it up, holding it in his lap. “It’s password locked. Do you know it?” Keith looked a little sheepish.

“It should unlock with your thumbprint. If not, it’s 0728.” Lance watched him. Was Keith blushing, or was he mortified that Lance touched him?

“Thanks.” Keith folded himself around his phone. “Are you leaving?”

“Do you want me to?”

“I feel safer with you here. Not sure if that makes sense.” Keith bowed his head, his ears a bit pink.

“Then I’ll stay.” Lance shifted and looked at him. “I’ll be on the floor if you need me.”

“You weren’t on the floor yesterday.” Keith looked away then looked around himself as if realizing that this is their bed.

“No, I wasn’t, but wouldn’t you be uncomfortable if I was in the bed with you?” Lance watched him. 

“I’m not sure how to answer that.” Keith looked at the pillow beside his and blinking at his hand, lifting it up so the ring glinted in the lamp light.

A slight tug of pain pulled at his chest when Keith started looking at the ring. He had no idea what that meant anymore, did he? He didn’t remember the fight they had before Lance gave it to him, or Lance’s insecurity about Keith leaving him. He didn’t know any of their ups or downs, and it hurt. But he had to push through it, so he forced the pained expression off his face. “It’s ok. I can fit on the floor.” He whispered.

“Okay. But it doesn’t seem right.”

“I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable when you should be healing…”

“Well, if you say you’re my boyfriend and this is our bed. Then wouldn’t that mean you’d know what I need better than I would right now?” Keith had a few bites of the dinner and laid back.

Lance blinked, honestly thrown off by that. “I guess?” He looked at the food, then at him again. “Are you done? I’ll bring it back out if you are. I’ll come back though, don’t worry…”

“Okay.” A little smile quirked up at the corner of his lips as he folded his arms over his knees resting his chin there. “Because I decided I’ll need you to take care of me.”

“O…okay.” Lance’s cheeks actually flared, and he looked at him for a moment before he took the plate and walked out of the room. He looked at the others with slightly widened eyes as he put the extra food away and put the dish in the sink. “Um…”

“You okay bud?” Hunk arched a brow and watched him. “You were in there a while.”

“No, but I’m…going to sleep in there with him.” Lance took the blanket off his shoulders and tossed it up onto the bunk. “I mean…sleep sleep.”

“That’s good!” Hunk smiled. “Good good.” He looked to Pidge. “Looks like we can head back for the night.”

Shiro gave Lance an inquisitive expression with a brow arched. “What happened? You’re beat red.” 

“Nothing! Nothing…” Lance shook his head. “You…can stay if you’re worried. There’s an extra blanket, if you want one I didn’t cry into.” He tried to focus on his cheeks changing back to their normal color, but they wouldn’t, so he just turned and walked back into the bedroom, leaving the door open a crack. “Okay…”

“How is everyone out there?” Keith had the blanket pulled up to his chin, the phone held firmly in his hand. He liked the gentle ease that settled between the two of them verses how anxious Lance was just a few moments before. 

“Okay…I think. Pidge and Hunk are going to leave for the night. Not sure about Shiro…” Lance looked at him, his cheeks still pink, before he opened the closet, his back to him as he changed his shirt. His skin at the base of his neck pulled a bit from the dried blood, and he knew he should shower, but now wasn’t the time. He was exhausted from not sleeping all night, and he knew Keith needed more rest.

Keith closed his eyes and turned his head into the pillow, nuzzling it as sleep started to weigh him down. “Did I do that?” Keith pulled the blanket around his cheeks, hiding his face more. “The marks on your back…” There was a discernable difference between scrapes one received turning fights or living daily life and the scratches made during the height of passion. The eight marks that ran perpendicular to Lance’s spine were made by desperate hands. A person who wanted him closer and needing him deeper. Keith almost eeped at the images going through his head and he ducked further into the safety of the comforter. 

“Eh?” Lance looked over his shoulder at him as he pulled his pants off, leaving him in his underwear. “Oh, yeah. But they don’t hurt if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Keith pulled the blanket over his face. “Oh. And the rest of that? Is that mine too?” Keith didn’t look up from his blanket. “I can smell it, it’s not mine. The blood.” 

“No, it’s mine. I…had a rough time while you were gone, but it’s healing, so it’ll be fine.” Lance closed the closet and turned to look at him, but then he slowly climbed into bed next to him and laid on his side, looking at him. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, I said it was before.” Keith turned to face him, but only his eyes and were visible under the blanket.

“Yes but now I’m actually in the bed with you.” Lance managed an almost non-existent smile. This made him feel better, and it eased the pain in his chest, though that dull throb never subsided. 

“And you’re not looking like you want to bolt out of here. So it’s a start, right? For both of us?”

“I guess that’s true. Though I am a little worried if you’re hiding from me like that.”

“Well it’s bit…” Keith shook his head wincing as the fading remnants of his headache reminded him they were there. 

“You don’t have to tell me.” Lance murmured. “Just sleep and heal.” He watched Keith until the other man closed his eyes, and then he rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. He listened for Shiro’s shuffling into the bunk in the front of the RV. He was relieved about that. If Shiro was here, Lance was less likely to panic and fuck up like he did before. If Shiro was here, Keith would be calmer. After staring at the ceiling for a while, his eyes started to close, and he fell asleep listening to Keith’s even breathing.


	10. How to Carry On?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Lance stood in the shower, his hand on the wall as he bowed his head and watched the water swirl down the drain. The past week had certainly been a challenge, one that Lance didn't want and still didn't quite know how to handle. He was doing much better now than he was those first few days though. Keith's bodily injuries had healed, or mostly healed, and the only real problem was the damage in his head. That, according to Pidge, really couldn't be fixed until Lance got his chest and arm back. His other hand rested over his heart and he closed his eyes. How was he supposed to get anything back when they were like this, though? Keith might have known which god he was, but all those years, the motivation to fight and stay together, all of it was gone. All that was left was an oddly innocent and pure man who blushed more often than not.

Not that Lance minded that, of course. Cute Keith meant happy Keith. Well, as happy as one without all their memories could be. It was weird, not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely weird. Lance had resorted to bad humor to lift his own spirits, but Keith laughed at his bad jokes. Actual laughs, not smirks indicating that he was humoring him, or eye rolls, but actual, happy, amused laughs. He also seemed to have more of a bounce in his step than before. Lance wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Did his lack of memories make him a happy person? Was he truly better off without the burden of their past and their relationship? Would it be better for Keith to just continue to live in ignorance of all their struggles, so he didn’t have to feel all of that pain?

There were times Lance just wanted to suggest that they leave things as they currently were for Keith’s sake, but he knew he couldn’t. The others wouldn’t have agreed with that, even if it did seem like the best for Keith. As they were now, they were incomplete, and Pidge and Hunk made the point several times over that Keith could never truly be himself if he didn’t have all of his mansions back. Lance couldn’t either, for that matter. But Keith also wouldn’t be this happy if he knew everything, would he?

So he left those thoughts for these morning showers. It was better than thinking about Keith wandering off while he was in here. This was the first morning since the incident that Shiro wasn’t here to make sure everything was okay. He left the day before to follow that lead he had been following before all this happened. Hunk and Pidge would likely be over later, but for now, Keith and Lance were alone. And as Lance turned the shower off and stepped out, he listened for any movement of Keith’s. When he heard it, he relaxed and dried himself off, wrapping a towel around his waist before opening the bathroom door. 

Keith sat on the bed, his foot tapping on the floor, anxiously shaking the hand holding his cell phone. He had yet to unlock it. It had been a week since Lance handed it over, and he was still terrified what he’d find. A cell phone carried a person’s whole life; friends, family, lovers. Keith swallowed, and his ears twitched toward bathroom door when he heard the shower switch off, his leg tapping faster. He was afraid of that the most. 

Lance told him they were lovers, and from how the others behaved, Keith had no reason not to believe it. It would be a cruel joke otherwise, and while Keith didn’t doubt he was attracted to Lance, he wondered if Lance would be attracted to the Keith in front of him. He didn’t know that other person. He’d spent a week trying to get to know him, but there was little there. Like the man had gone off the grid long before Keith ever lost his memories. 

Keith sighed, rubbing the back of his head a few times before he swore and unlocked the phone. “I’m doing it!” 

The phone unlocked with the press of his thumb and a meticulously organized screen popped up. Keith’s eyes widened. This was the phone of a minimalist. Someone who hated clutter and lived off what he needed. Nothing more nothing less. He opened the contacts. Seven contacts in all. Four being the names of the other familiar faces of their friends. The other two were listed under Work group and the last number just said HCMC. 

Keith wasn’t expecting to see something so lonely, but what had he expected? He knew a few things about himself already. He was brash, quick to anger, honest, and socially awkward. Hard to make friends with those traits. Well that question was answered. He didn’t see social media apps. No Facebook, twitter, Instagram, or anything else that signified a connection with the outside world. Even his email had yet to be set up. “Well that answers that question.” He mumbled, running his fingers back in his hair. 

Keith stared numbly at the photo icon before holding his breath and tapping it open. He blindly clicked any image on the screen. 

Laughter, soft and chiming, filled the bedroom along with what sounded like Lance’s low chuckle. The video on the screen blurred and jerked around but steadied when it focused on a too pale chest. 

“Put that away. I won’t want to see this!” Came Keith’s own voice followed by a good-natured smack against the phone

“Maybe I’ll want you to see this!” Lance said as the camera moved out to show a disheveled looking black-haired god. Beautiful indigo eyes staring up at the camera, they were heavy lidded and flirty and made worse by an accenting flush. “Oh, looks like Keith liiiikes it. Being filmed. Maybe I should have recorded earlier!”

“Don’t be an ass! Stupid Lizard!”

Lance paused as he stepped out of the bathroom. He could hear the sounds coming from Keith’s phone. They were faint, but he could tell which video it was. He remained standing in the doorway to the bathroom. Should he go in there? Should he wait and let Keith watch it? Should he mention that there were dozens of other videos on there that didn’t involve them being naked post-sex?

Keith blushed darkly as he watched the two lovers flirt endlessly and tease lovingly. Something changed in their eyes as he watched them, it was also in the way Keith moved. It was designed to entice, despite having just done it. A low sound escaped Lance’s mouth and the camera went dark, and Keith stared at the white arrow in the middle of the black screen. 

Lance took a deep breath before he gently pushed open the bedroom door. “Keith? Are you okay?” He tried to look like he had no idea what was going on, and he might even have succeeded. “O..Oh. You decided to look at it…?”

“Ack! Nothing!” Keith squeaked throwing the phone under a pillow and staring up at Lance with attempted innocents in wide Milky way colored eyes. “No! I wasn’t! I didn’t see anything!” Why did it feel like he’d intruded on something he shouldn’t have?

Lance blinked at the apparent guilt Keith felt. “You do realize that I put everything on that phone so you would eventually see it, right? In case you didn’t believe me…” He shook his head and walked to the closet to get some clothes, the towel still around his waist, though the movement had shifted it so it hung a little lower on his hips. “There are a lot of pictures and videos and stuff you can watch. You asked me to do them…”

“I, it’s just…” Keith worried his lip as his eyes followed the line of Lance’s back all the way down the top of the towel, and when he realized what he was doing, he turned his head to the side. “Is that really me? I mean it is, but he seems, I seem so, I dunno, together? Even like that.” Knowing the jig was up, he fished the phone out from the pillows and continued flipping through the pictures. They looked so in love, it nearly broke something inside of Keith.

He risked hitting another play button, but this time he heard music instead of laughter. Lance’s soft voice filtered through and curled pleasantly into his ears as Keith watched Lance’s long fingers strum the guitar in his lap. Keith in the video leaned against his back, smiling eyes closed and looking perfectly at peace then he started to sing back. The voices melded together in perfect harmony before Keith’s died out to let Lance finish.

Lance tensed. Of all videos to pick, Keith had to pick the second most embarrassing one for him! He felt the heat spread across his face and down his neck, but he said nothing. He just let Keith watch, even though his hands clutched at the shirt he had pulled from the closet. 

“I liked it.” Keith whispered, setting the phone down. “You have a good voice.”

“So embarrassing.” Lance murmured and kept his back to him, slowly unclenching his fingers from the shirt, but the redness still covered his whole face and neck.

“I like the way you sound when you sing.” Keith stood up and took a step closer to Lance but stopped. “You must have really loved me.” He bowed his head and lifted the phone back up, flipping through more pictures of their intimate moments together. One was of Keith sleeping peacefully on Lance’s chest, another was of Lance napping, his face nestled into the small of Keith back, with the image taken at an awkward over the shoulder angle. The next video Lance had the guitar again and he sang softly for his lover.

Keith swallowed. It was such an intrusion. He envied the other him. Never in all the days he could remember, had he seen anyone more cherished than the man he had been. Keith was jealous. 

“Loved is past tense. That means I stopped.” Lance’s blush darkened at the sound of the next video. There was the most embarrassing one. The one he filmed in secret when Keith was in the shower one morning. He slowly turned to glance over his shoulder at Keith. “You are my everything, even if you don’t remember.”

“I don’t know if I’m the same.” Keith swallowed. “I’m not like that, at least I don’t feel like I am.”

Lance blinked a little. “So? Should that mean I stop loving you? Is it uncomfortable for you to be around me? Am I putting too much pressure on you? I can sleep in the other room.”

“I’m not saying that!” Keith turned his head away, but behind him waves of heat moved in the pattern of opened wings. “I just don’t know how I should act.”

“You’ve been doing fine all week acting just how you’re acting. You don’t have to change just because you saw some videos and pictures.” Lance turned around completely, still in the towel, and he reached out to touch his hand. “Keith…”

Keith gasped at the touch, then looked down at his hand before he traveled his eyes up Lance’s arm, and he was far too innocent to hide where his eyes ventured from there. A little red ember formed in his wing, followed by another and soon a dozen little lights traced their path.

Lance took Keith’s hand and held it, watching the other man’s face as he clearly gave him a once over. He was a bit relieved at least, to see that Keith still found him attractive. But those little lights in his wings made his lover all the more adorable. 

Keith swallowed hard with smallest of blushes on his cheeks as he kept his eyes lowered. Had he really been this man’s mate? Well they obviously had, but could he bring himself to talk the way he did in those videos? 

He winced, his neck throbbed. The spot with the weird shaped scar started to tingle, and a self-conscious finger went up to stroke over it.

Lance blinked and lifted his other hand to touch the one Keith had touching the bite mark on his neck. “Does it hurt?” He knew Keith didn’t understand the mark, but something was happening, and he was at least aware of it.

“Tingles.” Keith lifted his eyes to Lance’s face, he was so close and his scent was so sweet. Beaches after a rain.

“A good tingle or a bad one?” Lance’s brows furrowed in concern. Maybe this version of Keith was rejecting it without knowing it?

“A-a tingle.” Keith let his hand drop, so Lance’s fingers could inspect the area. He didn’t expect the sudden thrill that shocked his body. Then without any control of his own, his neck tilted toward Lance.

“I see.” Lance gently ran a finger over the mark and watched his face. So it was a good tingle, then? Was Keith’s body remembering him even if his mind couldn’t? “Does this hurt?”

“Hnm!” Keith’s eyes closed tight, a tremor shaking his hands. “N-no.” He managed to get out and a dozen more lights moved through his wings.

“Did it feel good?” Lance pulled his hand back from Keith’s neck, the other still clutching one of Keith’s hands. “Are you ok?”

“Good?” Keith blinked as though dropped abruptly against a wall and he looked around himself briefly. His fingers opened and closed as if he was unsure where they worked. “It was… Yeah a good feeling.” He bowed his head trying to hide what his wings were giving away.

“Is it too much for me to be near you right now?” Lance slowly let go of Keith’s hand and he took a step back as though giving him space was a good idea.

Keith watched Lance’s feet step back. He wondered if he was doing something he shouldn’t, if he was behaving like he should, or what would the Keith from the video have done? He lifted his head, his eyes following. “M-maybe you’re not n-near enough?” That didn’t sound convincing even to himself.

“Is that what you actually want or what you think you should want?” Lance reached out and touched Keith’s cheek. “Go with what you feel, not with what you think I want you to do.”

“I don’t know.” Keith admitted softly, but his head leaned into Lance’s hand and the nervousness in his chest stilled. He let out a soft sigh. “This feels right though.”

“Then it’s ok.” Lance stepped closer again. He brushed his thumb over Keith’s lower lip. “As long as it’s what you feel.”

Keith’s lips parted as he bent forward to Lance’s touch, his hands bracing himself in front so he didn’t fall from the bed.

Lance leaned in, his eyes half closing. “Keith, will you let me kiss you?”

“Aa.” The smaller immortal gasped out.

Lance watched him for a moment longer before he closed the gap and pressed his lips to Keith’s, keeping it chaste for now. 

Keith took in a shuddering gasp as he first felt Lance’s breath against his lips, then he melted completely into it, moving how Lance led him.

Lance kept his hand on his cheek as he kissed him, just a gentle press of the lips, his eyes half opened so he could see Keith’s reactions, since they were so cute.

Keith’s cheeks flared as his eyes closed. It felt good. Lance’s touch. His taste. His scent. It made his whole body quiver.

Lance pulled his head back after a moment to give Keith time to recover. He kept his hand on his cheek, and he smiled a little at him. “Are you ok?” 

“Y-yeah I’m okay.” Keith swallowed as he leaned his head into his hand eyes still closed. “Your lips are super soft.”

“You like them? Do you want more of them?” Lance smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.

“I want more.” Keith touched his own lips after the kiss, then Lance’s lips. “Is that okay? I’m not any good at it.”

“Of course that’s okay.” Lance kissed Keith’s fingers and smiled softly. “I will kiss you until you’re sick of it.”

“Is that possible?” Keith watched Lance’s lips then looked up at his face. “It tingles more, my scar.”

“I hope it’s not possible.” Lance licked at one of Keith’s fingers before he leaned in and kissed him again. “Good tingles, that’s because you like me.” He grinned before another kiss.

Keith let out a startled squeak that was cut if by Lance’s kiss. He whimpered into his mouth, his head tilting up for the kiss, his hand slipping down to Lance’s bare shoulder.

Lance slid his hand from Keith’s cheek and slowly trailed his fingers down his jaw and neck as he kissed him. As he did, he coaxed Keith’s mouth open so he could push his tongue inside and make the kiss more intense.

“Mph!” Keith murmured between their mouths, his lips parting for Lance’s urging and when he felt his warm slippery tongue push inside, his toes curled. His body pressed toward him, his hips starting to grind.

Lance couldn’t help himself. He pressed closer to Keith and gently pushed him back on the bed, not once breaking the kisses.

Keith whimpered. It was getting hotter, and the god gasped when he felt the bed come up under him. His hips were melting and moving on their own making Keith cry out, his legs opening as he tossed his head back with an arch.

Lance’s eyes darkened, and he slid the hand at Keith’s neck down his chest and over his side, resting it on one of his hips as he pressed closer. He broke the kiss at Keith’s arch, and he leaned down to kiss along his jaw and neck. It has only been a week, but Lance missed touching Keith. The slight shoulder leans and barely there touches of their hands weren’t enough. He needed more than that. So he pressed closer, and he rubbed against him. The towel around his waist fell off and slid down his backside to the floor. 

“Aaah! Ahh L-lance!” Keith was burning up, his hips taking full control of how his body twisted and moved. The feeling of Lance’s lips moving down the pale column of his throat gave him jolts of pleasure tinged with the danger of the fangs he’d caught glimpses of before. 

When he turned his head back up, he saw in the mirror the smooth toned caramel planes of Lance’s back. Hills and valleys of his flesh moved and tensed as he rocked himself against Keith. 

Lance moaned against the flesh of Keith’s neck. He rubbed his heat against the smaller man’s thigh, each movement causing his own body to shudder. 

“Lance,” Keith whimpered, “it’s hot.” his hands didn’t know where they needed to go. One twisted into the bedspread, the other found the back of Lance’s head. 

“It’s supposed to feel that way.” Lance groaned against Keith’s neck. “I can stop if you don’t want me to do more. I don’t want to pressure you.” He nuzzled his neck and kissed it gently. “I’m being impatient, but I can’t help it. I want to be with you.”

“W-with me?” The trembling hand in Lance’s hair moved to touch his cheek. “Even if I’m like this?”

“I love you. I course I want to be with you. I don’t know what you think you’re like, but you’re everything I want and need.” Lance nuzzled the hand on his cheek before he kissed his palm.

“I don’t know what to do.” Keith replied with simple innocence.

“But I do. I will take good care of you. And if you want me to stop, I’ll stop.” Lance smiled.

“Take good care of me?” Keith blushed darker, getting an idea of what the words meant. “Oh. Okay.”

“Only if you want me to. If you don’t, it’s okay.” Lance kissed Keith’s palm again.

“It’s okay. You’ve done this with me before. You know what I can handle. And my nerves are on fire, but not like my fire.” Keith rambled as he slid his hands down Lance’s neck.

“I’ve only ever been with you.” Lance smiled, though his eyes started to close when Keith touched his neck. “Your body seems to miss mine as much as mine misses yours.”

“Is that what this feeling is?” Keith swallowed a little harder around the moan in his throat. “My body remembers, my heart remembers, but…”

“Don’t push yourself to remember things. It’s okay. Someday it’ll come back to you naturally, and you won’t feel any pain. In the meantime, just feel what you feel. Don’t try to explain it or fight it. If something isn’t good, tell me so I can stop and not make you feel bad or uncomfortable.” Lance moved his lips to kiss his wrist. 

“How could any of this not feel good?” Keith’s body shifted into a more comfortable position. He stared at Lance with adoring, lust-blackened eyes as if the concept of any of their actions not being good was completely alien to him.

“I don’t know. It always feels good with you.” Lance lifted his head from Keith’s wrist and looked down at him. “You always feel good.” He leaned down and kissed him, pressing his body against him once more.

“Mmmm!” Keith took a sharp inhale and held his breath before the kiss. His hands flexing and gripping on to Lance’s. He felt his body, heard his breathing, and the scent of their combined arousal was making him light headed. 

Lance pressed against him again before he pulled back enough to start pulling Keith’s shirt off him. His eyes darkened as he exposed that pale flesh. “Are you still hot?” He asked as he tossed the shirt aside.

Keith nodded, watching Lance move. He was beautiful. His skin perfect and bronzed. He couldn’t help but touch his chest, blushing at the contrast of their flesh. Smooth moon showered ivory and sun kissed caramel. 

Lance smiled when Keith touched him. It was an almost innocent gesture, more curious than sexy, but he could see the subtle shift as Keith grew more intrigued and aroused by Lance. And as he watched the other man’s eyes move, inspecting his body, Lance’s own arousal became more obvious, especially since he was naked and pressed against Keith’s thigh. “Nnn.”

Keith darted his eyes to Lance face when his sex twitched. “Does it feel that good to be touched? Like that?” He didn’t think he was doing anything special, but if Lance liked it, he’d keep doing it. His knuckles brushed over pinkish brown peaks, fascinated as they reacted to him.

“Nnn!” Lance didn’t bother stopping the moan that formed when Keith touched that sensitive skin. “I always like being touched by you. Your fingers feel so good.” He looked down at him and his eyes darkened more. He reached down and touched the waistband of Keith’s flannel pants. He didn’t pull down yet, but he watched the other man’s expression to see if he should pull further. 

“My fingers do?” Keith pulled his hand away and looked at his fingers to see if there was anything special about them, but they looked like normal fingers. They looked a bit pampered if he had to say, with nibbled nails. 

“They’re just normal fingers.” Keith whispered when he touched Lance again, blushing when he felt the hand at his waist. Did modesty really matter at this point? Thanks to his squirming he was already poking out through the hole in the font of his PJ pants, maybe he should be thankful Lance hadn’t noticed that.

“But they’re yours.” Lance murmured as he pulled Keith’s pants down, careful of Keith’s hardened sex, slowly sliding his fingers along his thighs as he removed the cloth. And once he got them down enough, he slid his palms back up those thighs, moving more towards the inside the higher up his hands went. “It looks like you like my hands, too.” He grinned at Keith’s arousal. “So we’re even hm?”

“Aah!” Keith’s eyes widened, and he tossed his head to the side, his lips parted. He was trembling, but it wasn’t fear that that fed into the tremors wracking his body, it was pleasure and anticipation. As Lance’s hands moved up and in, his legs spread more, bending up at his knees and spreading thighs wide, his sex hard and weeping his need.

“Does it make sense now? Why I like your fingers so much?” And as if to prove his point, Lance slid one finger along Keith’s arousal. “It feels good, doesn’t it?” He really did enjoy watching his lover squirm and moan.

“Wa- AH! Lance!” Keith arched back, his hips jerking up against his will and he felt the sudden tension and release. His body shot off like the strings of unpracticed arch. The bow snapped and the string had coiled up leaving him looking ravaged and drunk in it. 

Lance wasn’t sure why he wasn’t expecting that quick of a reaction. Keith was basically untouched like this, so of course a touch to his most heated place would cause a ramp up in the pleasure. And since Lance was leaned over him, the evidence of that pleasure hit his stomach, and he smirked. “It felt that good already hm?” 

Instantly Keith had his hands over his face, but they did little to hide the pink of his cheeks that ran over his ears and to the back of his neck, making the bite mark flare.

“Are you upset?” Lance leaned down and kissed the back of his hands. “Keith?”

“N-no.” Keith pulled his hands away showing that painfully red face.

Lance smiled and kissed his red cheeks before kissing his lips. “You’re so cute.”

“But I shouldn’t be like this.” Keith watched Lance’s face. “That was too early wasn’t it?”

“That just means your body really missed me.” Lance smiled when he pulled back enough to look down at Keith. “And you don’t remember all the times we’ve done this, so you’re essentially a virgin right? You’ve essentially never done it, either with me or with yourself. That reaction is normal.”

“Was I like this before then?” Keith searched Lance’s expression. His blush fading some but appeared to now be constant across the bridge of his nose.

“The first few times, yes.” Lance smiled softly. “You were very cute the first time we did it. And sometimes you got cute even when you were being sexy.” He leaned down to kiss him again. He was feeling so much better, but he knew he had to be careful and be vague with the way he explained things. The last thing he wanted to do was set off another bout of pain.

Keith kissed him back and he seemed eased by Lance’s words. “So I’m not too different for you?” He touched Lance’s cheek. “I know you said don’t try to be anything I’m not, but I want you to like it too.”

“Keith, I’ve been hard since I started kissing you. You don’t have to worry about me not liking it. I definitely like it.” Lance took one of Keith’s hands and put it down on his heat. “See? This is because of you. You’re the only one who can arouse me.”

Keith gasped when he felt Lance’s sex in his hand, but he didn’t hesitate to wrap his fingers around him. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” If Lance could purr, he would. As it was, he leaned in and nuzzled his cheek, whispering. “It’s hot, only for you. No one else. Only you can turn me on. You’ll always be the only one I’ll ever want and be with.”

Keith nodded and with an unnecessary level of focus he moved his hand. He didn’t want to go too fast, squeeze too hard, or scratch something painful. His tongue slipped out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. 

Lance blushed a bit. Did Keith know how cute he was even when he was doing such a sexy thing? He was incredibly turned on, but he was moved at the same time. Keith really seemed to want to make him feel good, and of course it was working, but the consciousness of it all warmed Lance’s heart a bit. “Nnn. Keith…”

Keith leaned his head up, nuzzling under Lance’s chin then kissing his jaw as he tilted his head up more. “I’m not hurting you? Right?”

“N… No. Absolutely not.” Lance moaned and tilted his head a bit for him. “You’re making me feel amazing.”

“Yeah?” A relieved sigh escaped from Keith before he had a chance to stop it. 

“Yes.” Lance glanced at him. “Keep going and you’ll see just how good you’re making me feel.”

“Oh!” With something only described has erotic determination, Keith moved his hand faster, watching Lance’s face as he kissed the sharp edge of his jaw.

And as promised, Lance moaned as he came, his eyes closing as the pleasure rocked through him. “Nnn. See?” He managed, panting a bit when he finished.

Keith blinked and looked down at the semen now spotted and streaked over his stomach. He lowered his hand down and smeared it against the fine lines of his abs. His eye brow quirked up in curiosity. “It’s warm, the rest of you is cool. Does it feel strange?” 

“I can’t help that I’m cool…” Lance half grinned, getting aroused again with the way Keith was smearing him like that, but he chuckled before he shook his head and leaned in to kiss him. “You make me warm, so it makes sense that it’s warm hm? Does it bother you?”

“No! No no.” Keith shook his head. “I was just talking. I’m sorry it was a weird thing to say.” Without thinking Keith scratched nervously at his cheek, leaving a line of Lance’s seed. When Keith realized what he did his cheeks flared up so fast he was sure his hair was standing on end.

“It wasn’t weird.” Lance gently lifted his hand and wiped the mess off his cheek, his eyes dark as he looked at him. “I like hearing you talk, you know.” He kissed him and smirked. “Even when you end up accidentally embarrassing yourself.”

“Seems like I’m really good at that right now.”

“Well it’s adorable and it makes me want to smother you with kisses.” Lance grinned and kissed him again. 

Keith laughed, one of those honest whole-hearted laughs. The ones which have been coming more and more frequently since the start of what was supposed to be a nightmare. His arms wrapped tightly around Lance as he hugged him close. He smiled like there was no place else in the world that could make him happier than he was at that moment. 

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith and held him as close as he could. He pressed his face into his hair and closed his eyes, nuzzling as though that would stop the feelings that were about to overwhelm him. “Thank you.” He whispered. “For accepting me, even like this. Thank you for laughing. And smiling. And not hating me.”

“That should be my line, shouldn’t it?” Keith touched Lance’s lips, eyes glittering the gentle deep blue they reserved only for Lance. 

Lance pulled his head back from Keith’s hair just in time for Keith to touch his lips, so he kissed those fingers and smiled softly. “Well, no I guess not. I love you no matter what. I love you however you are, however you were, and however you will be. You are my reason for living, and nothing will change that.” He kissed those fingertips again. “I will always love you.”

“Wow.” Keith gave a bashful grin. “I wish I could remember what I did to deserve all that from you.” 

Lance shook his head. “It’s okay that you don’t.” He cupped Keith’s cheeks in his hands. “Don’t force it please.”

“I’ll try not to.” Keith brought his hands to the ones at his cheeks. “I’ll just enjoy it. Like you said. Right?”

Lance nodded. “Yes. Don’t worry about before. Just worry about now.” He smiled and rested his forehead against Keith’s.

“You know what I noticed?” Keith kissed Lance’s nose.

“Aside from me being naked and half on top of you?” Lance blinked, his cheeks reddening slightly again.

“They’re still here.” There was a shifting beside them as his wings lifted, fanning out. 

“Well, of course they are. Why wouldn’t they be? Should they have disappeared just because you forgot things?” Lance blinked, but the presence of Keith’s very solid wings stirred up some feelings in him, and he had to squash them before his horns or tail appeared. 

“The last time I saw them solid like this, with real feathers?” Keith reached over and touched the edge of the wing. Blinking suddenly, he reached out to touch Lance’s necklace, his other hand touching the cuff on one of his ears. “Wha… I…” His eyes glazing over.

Lance quickly grabbed both of Keith’s hands and brought them to his lips. “Keith. Stay with me and look at me okay? Don’t think about anything right now. Just look at me.”

“Don’t think.” Keith repeated numbly until his eyes cleared, and he smiled at Lance as if the last two minutes hadn’t occurred. He wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled his cheek against his. “They look better than I expected them to, after all this time.”

Lance let out a little sigh of relief and held him closer. “Well, you’ve taken good care of them.”

“They’re in all the time, it’s hard not to.” Keith kissed Lance’s cheek. “So you’ve seen them before?” There was a small pause. “Are you the reason they’re so sensitive?”

“Yeah I have, and probably.” Lance managed a little smile. “But you always liked it when I touched them, so maybe that’s it.” 

“Do you want to?” Keith asked with a nibble at his bottom lip.

“I do, of course I do, but I’m afraid of hurting you.” Lance’s smile became a bit sad. 

“You’ll hurt me if you touch me?” Keith stroke a finger over the temple by one of those sad eyes. 

“I don’t know. But you might try to remember things if I touch your wings, and I don’t want to risk that. I love you too much to cause you suffering when I can prevent it.” Lance nuzzled his hand.

Keith studied Lance’s eyes for a pregnant second. “Something about you, hurts me to remember?” 

“Your past, that time between what you remember and what you don’t, is what hurts you.” Lance shook his head a little. “I am part of that past, obviously, since you’ve seen the pictures and the videos. When you try to remember it, you get a headache. When it’s natural, you don’t. Though you don’t remember anything about what you’ve seen, so that might be why it didn’t hurt you.” He kissed him gently. “I’m afraid touching your wings will make you try to remember.”

“It didn’t hurt when you touched other places.” The blush rose up on Keith’s cheeks again. 

“Yes, but touching your wings is a lot different isn’t it? Because they’re part of you as a god, not you as a man.” Lance kissed each of Keith’s blushing cheeks. “I really want to touch them and make you feel good, believe me, but I won’t risk it.”

“I’m sorry.” Keith stroked his knuckle over Lance’s lips. “That must suck to see.”

“You being in pain is what sucks to see.” Lance kissed Keith’s knuckle and smiled at him in an attempt to ease him. “There will come a time when I will pamper your wings with touches and kisses. I promise.”

Keith groaned as though the idea was enough to make his body melt. “What else will you do?”

“To your wings or to you?” Lance nuzzled that hand at his lips.

“Both.” Keith’s dark eyes lifted to Lance, heavy lidded and coy.

“Well, I’d—” The telltale sound of the door opening stopped Lance from finishing his sentence. He groaned and bowed his head, but he couldn’t help but laugh. Pidge and Hunk would have the worst timing wouldn’t they?

“You guys asleep? It’s past noon!” Hunk’s voice boomed as footsteps approached the bedroom door.

“Hunk If you touch that door, I’m going to remove your hand. With my teeth.” Lance called out, the laughter stopping only long enough to give the warning. He shook his head and looked at Keith. “Maybe I shouldn’t have given them a key.” He groaned before kissing his lover. “We should clean up as best we can and get dressed…” He reached for a box of tissues.

Keith groaned and tilted his head back to the door. “Alright.” He sat up, his wings pulling up behind him, but not dissipating. They shook a few times, then a couple more with the added bounce of Keith’s slender shoulders. “Ummm.” 

Lance blinked, then shook his head. “Don’t force it. There should be enough room if you sit on the loveseat.” Lance kissed his cheek before he took the tissues and helped him clean up.

“Still won’t they know?” Keith squirmed as Lance clean their combined mess off his body.

“They already know. I just threatened Hunk.” Lance smirked as he finished cleaning them both up.

“Yup! We already know!” Hunk yelled. “No surprises here!”

Keith’s eyes looked mortified and turned his face to hide in a wing.

Lance kissed the top of Keith’s head and smiled. “Those two are the last people who would judge us.” He ruffled those raven locks before he stood and went to grab some clothes.

“I wasn’t worried about them judging us.” Keith sighed, “Do I have anything I can wear with these?” He folded his wings in. “I don’t want to go out there like some weird X-man or something.”

Lance looked over his shoulder at him, but then he rummaged through the closet and found an old shirt. He ripped two slits up the back so when Keith put it on, the cloth would fall around his wings. “Here this should work.”

Keith shouldered the shirt on and then smirked when he pulled it out by the hem to read the front of it. “AC/DC huh?” 

“It’s an old shirt.” Lance shrugged and helped fix the back of it for him. “It works, right?”

“Yeah, it works.” Keith’s smile stayed visible the whole time Lance fussed with his shirt and moved his wings around to check for comfort. After a moment he gave the final nod of approval. “I’m ready.”

Lance nodded and took his hand once they were fully dressed. He opened the bedroom door and looked over at Hunk and Pidge, who were sitting at the table with lunch spread out for the four of them. Lance blinked. “Thank you.”

Hunk grinned. “You two need to eat better, especially if you’re exercising again.” He chuckled. 

Keith, who had just regained his natural color, found a few more shades of red. He leaned in close to Lance and pressed his heated face against the back of his shoulder, letting his natural coolness calm his skin. 

Pidge smiled. Keith was rarely adorable in a sense she would bother to notice. She often looked up to the older god more than anything, but since the incident with Meng-Po, Suzaku had been different. More curious than jaded. More open than closed off. More innocent than experienced. It endeared the young goddess it made her want to protect him. “We brought plenty.”

“We appreciate it.” Lance squeezed Keith’s hand as he walked with him into the main room. He found him totally adorable, but he didn’t want to bring attention to it and make Keith even more embarrassed. He let go of his hand when he got to the loveseat, and he got him a plate of food. “Here.”

Hunk nudged Pidge with a grin. “Maybe we shouldn’t worry as much?”

“Yeah, they seem to be getting along well.” Pidge smiled, the way Lance doted on Keith reminded her of simpler, happier times for the love sick deities.

Keith took the plate from Lance. Their hands lingering a little longer when they touched and his eyes stared into Lances communicating a level of affection and need that only the two of them could fathom. “Thank you.” 

“Anything for you.” Lance smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of his head before he got his own food and sat on the floor in front of Keith so he could stay by him and still eat. “So anything new?”

“Shiro’s checking something.” Hunk nodded a little. “He said he’d text us if it pans out.”

Keith moved a leg to either side of Lance. His fingers combing gently though his hair, scratching at his scalp as he listened to what the others talked about. Keith’s mind was still a bit foggy at times and listening to them discuss plans he didn’t remember making left him feeling nauseated and confused. But Lance made sense. Lance was a good anchor. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms over his shoulder, nestling his face into his hair as he held him.

Pidge shook her head at the display and gave Lance an arched expression. “So we just wanted to pay you two a long overdue visit.”

Lance had one arm looped around Keith’s leg as he ate and nodded a bit, though he half turned his head towards the attention Keith was paying to his hair. “Well sorry we don’t have much for entertaining.”

“I dunno, I’m pretty entertained.” Hunk smirked over at Lance, giving the other dragon a look that perfectly conveyed what he meant.

Lance arched a brow, but he couldn’t help but match Hunk’s smirk. “Well that’s because your timing is bad. Jerk.”

“Are you saying I could have been more entertained if I came earlier or later?” Hunk grinned. It was nice seeing some of the old Lance back. Maybe having someone that needed him the way Suzaku did right now was a good thing. 

When Keith was completely done eating he laid out on his stomach, letting the couch support the weight of his wings, and he wrapped himself around Lance’s shoulders, his legs bending against the couch arm.

Lance shifted so Keith would be more comfortable and he grinned at Hunk. “Way later.” He chuckled slightly and ate a little more food. “But seriously thank you two. Even just visiting and bringing us something to eat means a lot, though I guess we are going to have to go into town at some point.”

“Even if you have to leave the bedroom?” Pidge smiled warmly laughing to herself as Keith hid a little more into Lance’s shoulder.

“As regrettable as that is, yes.” Lance grinned and reached up to pat Keith on the head. “Though he’s so cute I don’t know what to do with myself!”

“Traitor.” Keith mumbled and bit at Lance’s shoulder like crabby bird nipping at its owner finger when it wasn’t in the mood.

“Oh? You don’t want to be cute?” Lance turned his head and kissed whatever he could reach.

Hunk leaned over to Pidge and whispered in that voice that was clearly meant to be heard. “Do they know that they’re going to give us cavities with all this cuteness?”

Keith pouted with the kiss against his eye lid but he appeared satiated. “It’s kind of embarrassing.” Even as he complained he hugged himself closer into Lance, his lips at the nape of his neck.

“Well we can’t complain. We barged in after all. But I’m compelled to protect the redefloweration of our bird friend. Lance has a few designs for him, I’d guess.” Hunk smiled.

“I heard that.” Lance pouted. “I am going to be good to him.” He nuzzled Keith a bit.

“He said he’d take good care of me.” Keith placed his chin on Lance’s shoulder. His face serious, and the innuendo flying over his head. 

Hunk looked at Keith with and incredulous wide-eyed expression. “That’s it. I’m done. I can’t. Pidge we’re keeping him. He’s just too… too…

“Pure?” Pidge asked. “The last mansion was the willow. Suzaku’s power to sense corruption and dispel it. Purification. It’s most likely dominating parts of his personality.”

“You can’t keep him. He’s mine.” Lance pouted a little and nuzzled Keith’s cheek. When the topic shifted to the mansion though, he quieted down so he didn’t accidentally slip about his own. 

“Well, I doubt his personality would change when he gets the next one, so maybe it’s not entirely that.” Hunk shrugged and started cleaning up the food.

“Suzaku was always the purest of us.” Pidge smiled at Lance. “Straight forward. Honest. Even in battle he always believed in what he was doing.” Pidge winked. “It’s an enhancement on what’s already there.”

“I’m not pure. Right Lance? If I was I wouldn’t have… we wouldn’t have…”

“You absolutely are pure.” Lance chuckled. “Maybe not in body, but definitely in everything else.”

Hunk laughed a hearty laugh. “You guys are great.”

Keith blinked, but he smiled as he laid his head back against Lance’s shoulder. He was comfortable and happy being around everyone. This companionable conversation felt good, and his feathers fluffed showing his pleasure.

Lance relaxed when he felt Keith shift against him. This was so much better than the week before, when he was ready to give it all up if it meant Keith would be happy. Well, he was still ready for that now, but the inclination to allow that to happen was fading fast.

Hunk nudged Pidge again and grinned. “Maybe we should take pictures so Shiro can be jealous.”

“Why would Shiro be jealous?” Keith lazily lifted his eyes to Hunk. Without thinking he moved his out wing down and over Lance like a protective blanket. It was just another way he could hold his lover. Keith snuck his arm around Lance, hidden by the covering of his wing as it moved under his arm and over the other stomach. Lover. That’s what Lance was. His lover. His mate. 

“That he can’t see how cute this all is.” Hunk smirked, but as he watched Keith curl possessively over Lance, he could see the relief wash over the other dragon’s face. He knew Seiryuu was always paranoid about Genbu and Suzaku’s relationship, even though all of them knew it was more brotherly than anything else. But he also understood how dragons felt about their mates, how even the slightest hint that they might be interested in someone else could shatter their very being. He reached out and took Pidge’s hand under the table and grinned a bit. 

Lance lifted a hand up under Keith’s wing to touch the arm that had slid around him. His fingers moved over the back of Keith’s hand and he chuckled. “Nah. Don’t let him know. It’s not our fault he stayed most of the week and just decided to go do something yesterday. He could have gone earlier and come back earlier.” 

“It would probably be too sickeningly cute for him. Genbu can be a grumpy old man when he wants to be.” Pidge smiled and turned her hand up to hold the one offered her. “Though you two could probably outdo puppies when it comes to cuteness right now.”

“Did you guys wanna do anything? Or just watch us and talk about weird stuff?” Keith caught one of Lance’s fingers between his and held them under the down covering.

“He almost always wants to be a grumpy old man so…” Lance grinned. But he shook his head a little and glanced up at Keith. 

Hunk shrugged. “We wanted to check on you and bring you food. Watching you like this is just a bonus.”

“Do the rules apply to them too?” Keith’s soft voice tickled Lance’s ear. “If they tell me or talk to me about certain things will it hurt?” The embarrassment of being seen in these tender moments was wearing off, and Keith’s curiosity started growing. He didn’t so much care about things hurting himself, but he didn’t want to make Lance suffer any more than he already had been. The poor thing had been through so much. Keith just wanted to hold him and protect him from all the chaos he brought to Lance’s life. 

“I won’t ask anything.” Keith continued to whisper. “If you’re happy, I’m content.”

“Yes.” Lance whispered in reply. “But they know what we can and can’t talk about, so they won’t say anything that’ll hurt you.” He managed a little smile. “I’m happy if you’re happy.” 

“Mmm. Kay.” Keith nuzzled his lips into Lance’s hair and Pidge had to look away. Not because of her own embarrassment, but Keith’s behavior seemed intimate. He was still in his own world and the only other person allowed in there was the man he wrapped himself around. It was a defense mechanism, Pidge had no doubts about it. Which was a good sign. It meant a part of Keith understood what was going on beyond what they were saying out loud and was doing all it could to protect himself. 

There was one thing that would never be disputed about the Vermilion Bird; it was a creature of battle. His defenses were nearly flawless. Pidge smirked a little. Pride swelling in her chest. They might still win this thing.

Lance looked over at Hunk and Pidge after a moment and offered them a smile. “When it’s time to do whatever Shiro comes back to talk about, you two will stay here with Keith right?” There was really no arguing on this point. Whoever had their fourth mansions was going to have to die. And Lance had to devour the person to break his seal. If Keith was around for that, who knew what kind of damage would be done.

“Yeah.” Hunk nodded. “But we don’t know who…”

“It doesn’t matter. I have my guns.” Lance frowned a little. But he knew his statement was vague enough to sound mortal in essence, even though he knew the others understood. His neck was returned to him, and with it, his ability to create and use water and ice as his weapons again. His guns, his arrows, his swords. Any of it he needed, he had at his disposal. He might not be as good as Keith, but he could still defend himself, especially with his horns returned to him too. 

“You’re leaving?” Keith whispered. Nobody discussed this with him, and he started to pull himself up to his elbows, letting Lance go, but then he used the edge of his wing to turn dark skinned man’s head toward him.

“No no. Not really. Shiro’s checking something out for me, and when he comes back, I have to go out for a short amount of time, but I’m not leaving.” Lance let Keith move him however he needed him to. “Someone took something of mine, and I will need to get it back.”

“What was taken?” Keith asked, his body getting warmer obvious agitation in his voice. Someone had dared to hurt his mate. 

“Something that will help me take care of you.” Lance lifted a hand to touch Keith’s cheek. “You can trust me, and I know you trust Shiro, so please don’t worry okay? I don’t even know when Shiro will be back, so who knows when it will happen.”

Those words melted the bird. “Of course I trust you.” Lance’s hands were so wonderfully cold. Every touch was a brush of refreshing a water against his skin. Even before, when they were holding each other in the bedroom, Keith was awed by the feeling of it. If one could hold a mountain spring after a storm. That was what it was like to hold Lance. “I just…” Keith whispered. “I don’t want to be away from you right now.” 

“I know.” Lance smiled and gently stroked his cheek. “I don’t want to be away from you either.”

“When it happens, we can always just take the truck and we can stay behind with Keith.” Hunk tried to be helpful. “Then you can do what you gotta do and it won’t be that bad right?”

Pidge shook her head and patted Hunk’s thigh. “They’re in a honeymoon stage. Any time away is going to feel like forever for Keith. Particularly since we rudely interrupted them.” 

“Sorry.” Keith kissed Lance’s palm as he spoke to the other two, his eyes going up then looking back down sheepishly. 

“You don’t need to apologize or explain. We understand.” Hunk supplied warmly. 

“There’s nothing you should apologize for. You want to be with me. That makes me so happy.” Lance smiled at Keith in an attempt to reassure him.

Keith turned large eyes to Lance. “Yeah.” It wasn’t a want for Keith, but he wasn’t going to argue the semantics of wants versus needs in front of their friends. 

“Besides, we’re willing to bet that it’s Lance’s fault any way.” Hunk smirked to his friend.

“Hey!” Lance pouted, turning to Hunk and trying to make it seem lighthearted, but there was a flash in his eyes, and it was clear that Lance was still blaming himself for everything, and he was only putting on this front to keep Keith comfortable.

Pidge shook her head. “Well, it’s technically his fault Keith seems to want us to leave so they can get back to it, but I wouldn’t necessarily blame him.” She smiled a little at Lance.

Hunk winced mildly at Lance’s look. Hunk was only implying the likelihood of Lance making an advance on Keith rather than Keith making an advance on Lance. He was about to say more when Keith finished Lance’s complaint.

“I pushed him.” The dark-headed god bowed his head down. “He tried to be respectful and leave. But I wouldn’t let him.”

“Well whaddya know. My world view just shattered.” Hunk blinked.

“Well it wasn’t like it was difficult to convince me…” Lance smiled at Keith again, the pained look completely gone.

“I can’t even imagine it.” Pidge shook her head. “But I guess there it is.” She let go of Hunk and stood, stretching her arms above her head. “We should probably head out for now, though.”

Hunk followed Pidge’s lead and got the door, holding it open for her. “Keep the food. I put it all in the fridge while you two were flirting. So enjoy it and make sure you give some to Shiro when he shows up.”

Keith moved his wing to hold Lance a little closer now that the other two were getting up to go. “We’ll make sure he gets taken care of.” He smiled up at their friends, never feeling more grateful for anything more than he did for them.

“And we’ll text him to make sure he at least calls first before opening the door.” Pidge smiled and hopped out the door.

Lance watched the door close, and he turned to look at Keith. “Are you still…wanting to…you know?”

“Look at me and tell me what you see?” Keith laid his head back down against the couch watching him with knowing, burning eyes. 

“I know what I see. I want to hear you tell me.” Lance pouted.

“I still want to… you know.” Keith smiled. “As long as you don’t care that I don’t know what to do. I just... it’s…” He sucked in the corner of one cheek. “I feel… empty. Is that the word? I want you to fill me.” Keith didn’t know what his words implied, he was merely trying to describe the way his body felt, and had felt since they left the bedroom.

Lance’s eyes darkened instantly at those words. He got up and walked to the door, making sure is was firmly closed and locked before he walked back to the couch and reached down to extend his hand to Keith. “Then, let’s go back to the bedroom so I can fill you over and over again.” 

“Huh?” Keith had to admit, when Lance said it like that it sounded weird. “How much can a person get filled?” He took Lance’s hand, standing up and folding his wings back into his body. 

“Several times at least, before it gets too tiring.” Lance helped Keith to his feet and grinned. He knew Keith didn’t understand, but after today he definitely would. He pulled him close and kissed him once before tugging him to the bedroom.

Keith wasn’t a complete lost cause. He at least knew he should undress. He reached back and removed the knots Lance made in the shirt below his wings. He pulled the shirt over his head and kicked his pants off. 

“Like before, right?” Keith nodded and crawled back on the bed. The exposure was making his pale skin flush in a couple interesting places, and as he found his purchase on the bed, his red, burning wings spread flat against the sheets. His lean sculpted body stretching out between them. 

Keith was the perfect guise of a restful angel painted with gentle sweeping strokes of Thayer or the burning imagery of Fra Angelico. His great wings a light behind him with a black halo of silken hair bedding his head. Keith held his arms over him, palms open toward Lance as though accepting all his personal god was commanding of him.

“Lance.” Keith sighed with a whispering shift of his hips.

Lance certainly hadn’t expected Keith to undress so quickly, but he definitely wasn’t complaining. As his perfectly formed lover spread out on the bed, he quickly tugged off his own clothing and moved over him, allowing the smaller man to wrap his arms around him as he pressed his body against him. “Keith, how are you both the cutest and the sexiest at the same time?” He murmured against Keith’s lips as one of his hands rested on one of those pale thighs and pushed it aside a bit more so he could settle his body.

“Maybe you’re just easy to please?” Keith smiled but quickly gave to a little gasp when Lance pressed his weight down against him, spreading Keith’s legs to accommodate for Lance’s slender width. 

“Well, you’re the only one who can please me, so you’ll have to tell me if that’s true.” Lance mumbled as he pressed his lips to Keith’s jaw and kissed there, the hand on his thigh holding the smaller man steady even as the other one moved to his hip and lifted it a bit. “You’re pretty easy to please too, you know.”

“Am I?” Keith’s flush got darker and his eyes more lidded as he allowed Lance to freedom to move his body as he needed. “How so?”

“Well, you’re feeling pretty pleasured right now aren’t you?” The hand that Lance had on Keith’s thigh moved to touch him.

“Eng!” Keith arched up, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips as he settled back into the bed, hips writhing in Lance’s hand. “I-I thought it would be more terrifying to be like this with someone.”

“It might be if it’s someone you don’t love.” Lance licked at Keith’s jaw as his hand curled around him. “But you’re mine, so…”

“You’re possessive for a human,” Keith whimpered the words out between pants for breath. “But yo.. you’re mor-AH!” His hips bucked up from the bed. 

“Well, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I never want to let you go.” Lance kissed to his lips and moved his hand faster.

“Ah-ah, you’re more than that.. aren’t you?” Keith tried to ask, but it came out in broken whimpers and cries.

“I’m yours.” Lance answered and kissed him again, rubbing a thumb over his tip.

“L-Lance!” The body under Lance trembled, strong hips thrusting towards the source of his pleasure as Keith climaxed into it.

“Yes Keith?” Lance smiled down at the man trembling below him. It was strange seeing him so cute and innocent. Keith wasn’t even like this their very first time in heaven.

“I was too quick again.” Keith mumbled from where he pressed his face into Lance’s shoulder, too embarrassed to meet the more experienced gaze of his lover. He had no idea what possessed him to even think he was capable of being on the same pedestal as the darker skinned man.

“I like it.” Lance smiled a bit and kissed Keith’s head, his eyes half closing. “You’re so cute, I don’t know what to do with myself.” He pressed his own heat against Keith’s thigh. “It’s really turning me on.” 

“You do? I mean it is?” Keith peaked over at him from the corner of his eye a flare burning his cheeks. 

“Yes. Can you feel it?” Lance pressed himself against Keith’s thigh again, his eyes darkening as he moved it just a little. “You did this to me.”

“I did.” Keith moved his leg just a little, blushing darker and looking a little relieved. “I’m glad then. Even if I’m different, you still feel this for me.” Keith leaned up and kissed Lance’s cheek, the motion far too chaste considering their position. “Here.” He shifted a little and pulled his wings down a bit. “So you can hold me and not have to worry about touching them.” 

Lance smiled and leaned down to kiss him, shifting a little and lowering his hand behind him. “You’re very good to me, you know that?” He kissed him again, nudging Keith’s hips up enough to push his finger into him. “Now let me be good to you.”

“You are good to me.” Keith lifted his hips to rest in Lance’s grip, his arms above his head, like a sacrificed cherub. “The best to me. Who could possibly be better than you?”

Lance moved his finger and watched Keith’s face. “No one. No one has the amount of love for you that I have.”

“No-no one…” Keith arched his hips up and gasped with a soft cry. “Y-you’re ins-side…”

“Part of me is inside. Not the good part yet.” Lance smiled and kissed him, grinning a bit as he added another finger. “Does it feel bad?”

“Two!?” Keith arched and almost let out something that sounded like a squeak. “It.. doesn’t feel bad at all. It feels good.”

Lance grinned. “Two. I could do three, but if I’m going to do three, I might as well put something better in hm?” He chuckled, but he nuzzled Keith’s cheek as he moved his fingers. “I want you to feel amazing.”

“Three? That would..fi..fit? AH!” Keith gasped, sucking on his lower lip then moaning. “Your fingers! They’re so cold! Feels amazing!”

“It fits every time.” Lance chuckled again and kissed to his lips. “They feel cold because you’re so warm. That’s all.” He kissed him and slowly pulled his fingers out. “Hold onto me. Your body is used to me, but you don’t remember it, so it might be shocking.”

Keith held Lance closer, his lips brushing up against his ears as he moaned, whispering, “Still be gentle with me.”

“I will do my best.” Lance slid his hands over his hips and lined up, groaning as he carefully inched into him. “Nnn.” 

“AH!” Keith’s arms squeezed around the dark skinned man, fingers gripping his shoulders and holding him. His whole body tensed up at the intrusion. It felt good and strange at the same time, and Keith didn’t know how to handle the sensations running through him stemming from that one place.

Lance held Keith’s hips and moved slowly, not wanting to overwhelm his lover more than he already had. “That’s it. Hold me.” He murmured as he moved his hips, his eyes locking on those violet gems that looked up at him. 

“I… aah!” Keith gripped man harder and tighter. “Aaha! You’re! I feel you moving! Hard!”

Lance moaned a little. “Yes…I’m hard because of you.” He moved, keeping his pace slow and even. “Nnn. Keith…”

“Me too, because of you. It… its…” One of Keith’s arms slipped from Lance’s shoulder and then down to his own burning sex as it rose up completely in his hand. 

“Fuck. Keith.” Lance’s eyes went black when he realized what Keith was doing, and his hips moved just a little faster. “AH!”

“AH!” Keith tossed his head back. “You’re going harder!”

“S…Sorry.” Lance groaned and tried to slow his hips again. “Did…Did I hurt you?”

“N.. no. Just startled me. Did something change?” 

“You touched yourself and it was extra sexy.” Lance half moaned as his fingers trembled a little against the flesh of Keith’s hips. He kept his own moving slowly again, trying to keep it as good for Keith as he could.

“You’re trying to hold back… aren’t you?” Keith leaned in to Lance’s ear. He swallowed not knowing what he was about to unleash. He was scared. He was trembling. He was aroused as all hell. He wanted it. He wanted to ride the line and cross it! “I liked it. When you pushed like that. Do it again.”

“I’m…” Lance moaned at Keith’s words and tried to pull him closer. He was right he was trying to hold back, but he didn’t want to make this a bad experience for Keith’s second first time. “Okay.” He managed before his hips started to move faster once more, and he moaned.

Keith moaned his lover’s name as he pushed harder into his pliant body. Long limber legs wrapping their around Lance’s waist, crossing together at his ankles. “Ah!” Delicious pleasure spiked up again.

Lance didn’t mean to thrust harder, but with his increased speed and Keith’s legs around his waist, he couldn’t help it. Tears came to his eyes when Keith pulled him closer, and he lowered his head to press against his neck. “Keith!”

“Tell me how it feels..” Keith whimpered. “Please… I need to know how I make you feel.” Keith kissed the tears forming in the corner of one of Lance’s eyes. Was he hurting? Was having sex with the ghost of his lover too much? Was he doing something wrong? “Lance!” 

“I don’t ever want to let you go.” Lance’s eyes closed when Keith kissed his face. “I can’t lose you again.” He managed as his breath quickened. How could he explain how it felt when the pleasure of their bodies was coiled with the pain in his chest? This was his Suzaku, his Keith, but it was a version of him who didn’t know Seiryuu, who couldn’t know him. And with each moan and gasp, that pleasure spiked, and the pain spiked with it. “Don’t let me go.”

“Ah!” Keith swallowed back more of the words he wanted to say. He didn’t want Lance to see the incomprehension in his eyes when the man made those desperate pleas. Keith didn’t want to remind him of the loss he was obviously still feeling. Keith understood that everyone was ‘making do’ with the way he was, treating him with eggshells and caution tape. 

“I won’t.” Keith whispered. “I’ll keep you safe until your Suzaku is back.” The words actually stung. Through the pleasure, and through the delirious ecstasy of his own body, the pain of his own words sprung tears to his eyes and he held Lance tighter. _please don’t let him see…_

“You are my Suzaku.” Lance’s whispered response was broken by gasps, but he felt the change in Keith’s demeanor and he lifted his head to look down at him. His eyes searched Keith’s for a moment, even as he kept moving his hips, and he smiled. “See? Only my Suzaku would worry about me the way you do.” He leaned in and kissed him. “Even if you never remember, you are mine. And I am yours.”

Keith kissed him back, full mouthed, heated, and lingering. “Lance…” Scenes flashed through his mind’s eye. Images of a happy loving couple captured in 12megapixel stills and 1080 motion. This was the feeling frozen forever in those moments. An all-encompassing warmth, a desperate need, and unyielding passion. “All of me, yours!” 

Lance relaxed a little when Keith seemed to feel better, and he kept kissing him as he moved with him. “I will never leave you. You are my life.” He kissed him again and sped up the movements of his hips.

“Lance!” Keith cried out, his face buried into Lance’s shoulder as his body jerk and bowed up in climax. His wings fluttered and dissipated into Suzaku’s lights of pleasure.

Lance couldn’t hold himself back when Keith finished. He followed shortly after, moaning and collapsing on top of him as he caught his breath.

Keith laid under him panting. His eyes still closed as the tidal pleasure passed, leaving him adrift in a haze of a thousand other sensations.

When he opened his eyes again he blinked at the red sparks of light dancing about the room. He’d never seen anything like it before, and he reached his finger out to touch one flittering past. Upon contact the light flared, igniting his face in red and then spread like a melting jelly over his finger and into his palm. Tingles of sensation followed; heat, calm, and a whisper of frantic energy. He watched as a few more landed on the expanse of Lance’s back and his legs. 

“Do they hurt?”

“No.” Lance carefully removed himself from Keith but he remained laying on top of him, nuzzling his face into his neck. “They’re like little warm kisses.”

Instinctively Keith laced his fingers into Lance’s hair when he switched positions. “Oh?”

“I’m always cold. When anything of yours touches me, it’s warmer. So when those little sparks touch my skin, it feels like you’re giving me little kisses.” Lance nuzzled more into his neck.

“That’s alarmingly adorable.” Keith couldn’t help himself as he squeezed Lance a little closer, like a child hugging his teddy bear one last time before bed.

“Is it?” Lance yelped a bit at the hug. “You can tell though can’t you? I’m always cold.”

“I noticed you feel really good to touch.” Keith blushed. “I certainly noticed that.”

“So you don’t mind?” Lance kissed Keith’s neck before he settled more against him.

“Mmm,” Goosebumps lifted on Keith’s neck, tingling over the bite shaped scar just at his shoulder. The sensation made Keith squeak and scrunch his neck down. 

Lance pouted. “So you do mind?” He lifted his head a little, careful of the fingers in his hair.

“No! That wasn’t it. It was this.” Keith moved his fingers to touch the small scar. “It tingles or tickles once in a while.”

“Oh?” Lance leaned down and kissed Keith’s fingers, careful not to touch the scar with his lips. “Well as long as it doesn’t hurt.”

“No it doesn’t. I can’t imagine anything you’d do would hurt me.” Keith pulled Lance up from his neck, squishing his cheeks as he held him above his face. Absolute adoration and trust glittered in the deep indigo depths of his eyes. 

“Ov corsh nt” Lance somehow managed to get what sounded like words out even when he got smushed like that.

Keith laughed and leaned up to nuzzle his nose into Lance’s. He’d caught Hunk doing something similar to Pidge when the two thought no one was paying attention. It was ridiculously adorable then, minus the slug the tiger made to the yellow dragon’s arm soon after, and Keith thought it was a good chance to try it.

It’s good Keith was laughing, but did he have to keep smushing Lance’s face like this? His eyes crossed when Keith nuzzled his nose. “Keef!”

Keith laughed a little louder, shaking his head when he let go.“I really hope that this part of me that can’t remember us, was as good to you as you deserve.” There was no sadness is the words only an honest hope.

Lance looked down at him, but then he smiled softly and placed a gentle kiss to his lips. “You were always better to me than what I ever deserved. You still are. I know there are times when I seem sad because you don’t remember, but I’m okay. I mean that. You’re here with me now. That’s all I need.”

“I know, but your face shouldn’t ever be frowning.” Keith hugged Lance closer, nuzzling his cheek. “I know it sounds lame, but I want to protect that smile.”

“See? You’re better to me than I deserve.” Lance closed his eyes and nuzzled his cheek. “Thank you, Keith.”

“You don’t have to thank me for being honest.” Something of a small trill or purr came from Keith throat as he continued to nuzzle and kiss Lance’s temple and cheeks.

“I want to, though. Is that okay?” Lance curled against Keith and kept his eyes closed. “I want to be even a fraction as good to you as you are to me.”

Keith snuggled his nose into Lance’s hair, taking in his scent. “If you keep talking like that, I’m going to start thinking that I was some kind of a saint.” Keith’s hands slowed their motions, his eyes drooping a little more. 

“To me, you were.” Lance nuzzled and held Keith closer as he drifted to sleep.


	11. What Must be Done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Art!!!
> 
>  
> 
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
>  
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Pidge leaned forward on the couch, her fingers laced in front of her with her index finger tapping on her knuckle to the pace of Keith’s footfalls. The dark-haired god had been walking back and forth in the RV for the last hour and it was starting drive the tiger goddess a bit bonkers.

“Smart phones help with nervous energy, you know.” She pointed to where Keith’s iPhone laid charging on the table. Though it appeared the god had exhausted the life span of the battery. She shook her head. “He’s going to be fine. He has Shiro with him.”

Keith stopped and turned his head to the smallest god. “What makes you think I’m worried?”

“Because you’re walking back and forth and wearing a hole in the carpet.” Hunk set down some snacks on the table in front of Pidge, causing the two other beast gods to blink at each other then up at Hunk.

“What? I bake when I’m nervous.”

“See!” Keith pointed at Hunk emphatically. “He’s worried too!”

“One, Hunk is always worried. Two, you just admitted you were worried. Three, these rolls are way too hot!” Pidge stuck her tongue out with a piece of bread partly on tip and tried blowing on it. Keith bit his own tongue about how an air goddess needs to blow on her food while his cheek puffed out to one side eating the roll without issue. Pidge glared at him and mumbled something about fire gods before she sat back on the couch, pulling her laptop with her. 

“You need to let things cool that come right out of the oven.” Hunk pointed out as if Pidge had never conceived of the concept before.

Keith shook his head, a smile pulling up a corner of his lips. He almost forgot the time until Lance’s little owl clock on the far wall struck the hour. The musical ‘whoo-whoo’ drove a shiver down Keith’s spine until eight off tune cries died down to a mechanical warble.

“Still,” Keith walked over to the window; he could feel the eyes of his friends follow him and burning into his back as he wrapped an arm around his stomach like it could ease the growing knot. “He’s really late. I knew I should have gone with them.”

“Do you think that would have been a good idea? You’re not at your full strength, and if something triggered your headaches, you both would become a burden to Shiro.” Pidge’s glasses glinted in the dying sunlight.

“I get that.” Keith sighed as he leaned against the wall, his eyes downcast his as he folded his arms over his chest. “I just don’t like it. I feel…”

“Helpless?”

“Listless?”

“Useless?”

Keith looked up at the other two, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “If you guys have something to say, you’re better off telling me straight to my face.”

“No, it’s just that it’s rare for us to see you on this side of it. Normally it’s Lance hanging back while you and Shiro go out and do cool stuff.” Hunk sat beside Pidge on the couch. 

“There’s nothing cool about fighting. It’s just something I’m good at. If I’m good at it, why wouldn’t I go instead of sending someone else?” 

“That’s just a nice way of saying ‘no one can do it but you’, isn’t it?” Pidge stated, putting another piece of bread in her mouth as if she were just talking about weather.

“That’s not-“ Keith started out with a yell until he caught a single level look from Hunk, tempering Keith instantly. “I don’t mean it that way. I would just rather be the one out there where I can control the situation.”

“And be the one hurt rather than seeing other people get hurt.” Pidge continued. “You need to have as much faith others as you expect them to have in you. Believe Lance will come back. Have faith in the fact that he’ll be home and see what happens. It’s hard, but it’s the best you can do.”

Keith sighed again and turned his head out the window to stare down the drive. “Just need to have faith, huh?” 

 

Shiro stood off to the side, watching the two-man standoff, arrows drawn and pointed at each other. Both had narrowed eyes, perhaps in concentration or malice. Possibly both, with the way Lance’s lips curled as he watched his opponent. He was poised and ready, as Seiryuu always tended to be when it came to these sorts of situations. The dragon god was a master archer, and there was only one other who could ever rival him when it came to the art of the bow. But Houyi was dead, and Feng Meng’s abilities paled in comparison to the fallen god. He knew it, too, if the crease in his forehead and sweat on his brow were any indication.

Feng Meng sneered at his opponent. They had been holding this position for at least an hour. At this point he was growing more incensed. How could a fallen god have the kind of stamina that would enable him to remain drawn for so long? Seiryuu should have been tired by now, but the dark-skinned man just stared back at him, and he grew angrier with each passing second. So he let his arrow fly. There was no point in keeping up pretenses. The banished one came to kill him, so he would just have to kill him first.

“Boring.” Lance muttered as he released his arrow, which split the other in half, and he smirked slightly as Feng Meng barely managed to dodge to the side. A thin line of blood appeared across his face, and he hissed as his hand lifted to smear the fluid over his reddening cheek. “Do you really think this is going to work in your favor?” Lance asked before he shook his head and nocked another arrow. “Houyi and Chang’e were my friends.”

“You were always too sentimental. Your friends were pathetic idiots.” Feng Meng spat as bloodied fingers reached for another arrow. “That’s why it was so easy to trick her and kill him.”

Lance’s brow twitched and he watched the other man draw and shoot again, this time he simply swatted the arrow away with his bow as he stepped aside. “Really Feng Meng. You can’t defeat me when I’m not trying. How are you going to do it when I am?”

“You’re pathetic. I’m a god. You’re not.” Another arrow nocked. Feng Meng tried again and again. Each arrow missing his target. 

“You’re the one who can’t hit your target, and you’re calling me pathetic? You want to come bash my head in like Houyi?”

“Seiryuu, we should wrap this up.” Shiro glanced down at his phone. They were already an hour past their promised return time. “Kouryuu is probably baking more food than any of us could eat.”

“I don’t know. I’m pretty hungry. I could eat a god or two right now.” Lance shrugged and let his bow disappear as he took steps towards his opponent, sidestepping each arrow that came flying towards him. When he got too close to safely move to either side, he lifted his hand, ice forming around Feng Meng’s bow. “And I’m tired of playing with my food.” He stopped right in front of the now trembling god and shook his head. “You reached too high, Feng Meng. You should have never attacked Chang’e and forced her to make that decision. You should never have separated her from her husband, and you should never have killed him. The Jade Emperor’s gift wasn’t a gift. It was a punishment. No one can hold any of our mansions without consequence.” He grabbed the other man’s shirt and pulled him close enough, so he would tremble more as he felt the dragon’s breath on his face. “Here is your consequence.”

Shiro turned his head to the side as Lance devoured the other god. The sound of flesh tearing and blood squelching was almost too much for him, but he held it down and kept his eyes focused on the few splatters of blood that had made it to his feet. He only looked up once the sounds stopped. 

Lance was holding something in a closed fist as he wiped the last of the blood from his lips. Beams of golden light shone through his fingers, and the whole room seemed to warm up. His tail curved behind him and moved in lazy S shapes. “Let’s get this back to him.”

“I’ll drive.” Shiro spoke softly. He knew Lance wasn’t normally the violent type, but there was something in the young dragon’s eyes that he hadn’t seen before. It flickered and faded as Shiro looked at him, but it had been unsettling none the less. A void. A lack of empathy, or any emotion really. That wasn’t Seiryuu. It couldn’t have been. Shiro shuddered slightly as he turned and walked towards the truck. He could hear Lance behind him, and he clenched his fists around his keys. He knew the dragon had been affected by Nizha’s words and actions when Keith had disappeared, but Lance’s reaction just then had to go beyond that. It couldn’t have just been that one instance that made him that way right? He had been with them since Keith woke, but he didn’t realize just how bad it actually was. Shiro suspected it had to do with Keith forgetting Lance, so they had to get him to remember soon. Lance might be able to fake being okay in front of him, but he was losing his cool now that he was away from him.

Lance was silent the entire ride home. His tail had vanished as soon as he got into the truck, and he kept his eyes on the glowing light safely cupped in his hands. He only looked up when Shiro pulled up and parked the car in front of the RV.

Shiro sighed as he saw the screen door of the RV burst open, and Keith darted out in front of their headlights, stopping just shy of his fender. The cold night wind blowing his hair around his pale elven face. Eyes that were already too large looked even larger in the wake of a day’s worth of concern.

Shiro turned off the engine and arched a brow at the slender figure in front of the RV. “That’s why we don’t play with our food.”

Lance shook his head. “It tasted better that way...” he stepped out of the truck and looked at Keith. “I’m ok. Here.” He held out his hand and opened his fist, freeing that orb of light.

Keith was about to jump into Lance’s arms but froze as the orb sunk into his body. He arched and twisted as glow spread. Rays of light stretching from him and reaching out in all directions before turning into tongue of flame. They curled and swirled, lifting Keith a few inches from the ground. Each arm wrapping tighter about him until the god was cocooned in fire. The large character for ‘Net’ flashed on inside the shell before it exploded and dropped Keith to the Arizona dirt. 

Lance caught Keith before he fell to the ground, gathering him into his arms and holding him close. “I’m sorry I took longer than I intended.” He whispered as he nuzzled into Keith’s hair. 

Keith’s eyes barely opened, exhaustion evident in the fight to keep them that way. “You’re not hurt?”

“Not even remotely.” Lance smiled and carefully helped Keith stand, getting him into the RV, so he could rest. “You must have been so worried. I’m sorry.” 

“He bit all of his nails off.” Pidge stated from her spot on the couch. “And Hunk cooked for an army.”

“Now that is the best news I’ve heard all day!” Shiro came in behind Lance, his hand ruffling Keith hair has he walked by. “I’m starving.”

“Well eat up! There’s plenty!” Hunk beamed.

Keith stood a little taller, strength coming back in measured heart beats, but kept himself in contact with Lance. “Are you going to eat?”

Lance blinked and exchanged half a look with Shiro before he managed a little nod. “I’m not really hungry, but I can eat a little if that will make you feel better.” He smiled and helped Keith to his chair.

“Did you stop somewhere?” Keith watched as Shiro started to scarf down Hunk’s food as if it was the first meal he’d had all day. 

“No.” Lance sat next to Keith and got a plate for him, handing it to him. “I just don’t have much of an appetite after all of that. I don’t eat well, but for you, I will eat a little.” He smiled at him as he got a small plate of his own.

“Oh? I didn’t know that.” Something didn’t seem right about his statement, but Lance didn’t have a reason to lie to Keith, so without mulling the thought over too much, Keith nodded his head and started to pick at his own plate. 

Shiro gave Lance an arched look, but it was all the elder god could do before Hunk interrupted him to tell every about the fight. Shiro did, of course, leaving out any details about Seiryuu himself.

Lance quietly poked at the small amount of food he took, taking a bite or two whenever Keith looked at him. He let Shiro tell the story, since he was much better at leaving out all the necessary details, like Lance’s horns, or his scales, or devouring an asshole to get their mansions back. 

“So it went as well as it could have?” Pidge was watching Lance during Shiro’s story. She offered him a smile when his gaze caught hers, but she made no move to look away. Lance probably needed tonight. He hadn’t been himself since Keith forgot him, and seeing him do something he would find useful could only help him, right?

While Shiro spoke, Keith laid his hand on Lance’s leg squeezing his knee when Shiro got to the fight. Lance being in danger for Suzaku didn’t sit well with Keith but he knew there wasn’t a choice. Concerned blue eyes flittered up to Lance’s face and they moved hurriedly over him to make sure there were no scrapes or cuts over his perfect skin.

“I’m glad it went well and that you’re both back safe.” He found it strange that Shiro wasn’t the one doing the fighting. He was a warrior god, much the same as Keith yet Lance was the one out in the thick of it. Keith wasn’t an idiot. He knew they were keeping things from him, but it was more of whatever it was they thought would hurt him. It was starting to get really aggravating. 

Lance rested a hand over Keith’s and turned to smile at him. “Yes, we’re both okay.” He gently patted Keith’s hand before he slid his fingers over the back of it as though that could comfort him. He saw that flash of skepticism cross Keith’s face, and he shook his head a little. They couldn’t hide who he was from him much longer, could they? “I’m just better at shooting then he is. That’s all.” He leaned in and kissed Keith’s cheek. “Otherwise he would have been in it.”

Keith’s brow arched even further up. He didn’t ask anything out-loud and now Lance was trying to distract him from the topic with gentle, tender touches. Keith mentally sighed and allowed the distraction to work. His turned toward the others and took Lance’s hand in his own. It didn’t feel right inside. His stomach twisted and made him nauseous, but he’d bear it for now. They had their reasons. Pidge and Hunk seemed to be okay with what they were saying. However, it wasn’t their virtues being tripped over while everyone tried to walk on broken glass. 

“So,” Keith cleared his throat. “Who’s next?”

Lance glanced at the others and shook his head. He gently squeezed Keith’s hand and looked down at his plate. He couldn’t be the one to tell him, right? Keith already seemed uncomfortable with the situation. He didn’t want to make it worse.

“Well…” Pidge sighed. “Nizha, most likely.”

Keith tensed. It wasn’t the response he wanted to hear. “Nizha?” 

Memories of the other god flared into existence; times drinking a tavern together, times Nizha chased human girls around and lounged around in pleasure houses happy as any god could possibly be. Battles and wars fought side by side with him and Shiro. Nizha was a face in the crowd of on-lookers, his handsome features twisted in rage while Suzaku cried in pain. Keith leaned forward, his fingers rubbing at his temple. “When?”

“When you’re ready.” 

Keith looked at Pidge a deep frown on the edges of his lips. “How am I going to be ready for something like that?”

Lance’s jaw set and his lips thinned, but he just squeezed Keith’s hand again and remained quiet.

“You’ll have to be.” Shiro sighed and lifted his hand to rub his forehead. No one wanted this to happen. Nizha was a good guy and a close friend. But they had no choice. Keith had no choice. He was going to have to fight him, and he was going to have to do it without Lance actively supporting him. They couldn’t risk compromising Keith when something so important was coming.

“It sucks for sure.” Hunk shook his head slightly. “But he definitely has a piece of you, and you need that back. We’ll be with you, so you won’t be alone.”

Keith ground his teeth. How where they talking about this nonchalantly? They knew what they were saying, right? They knew what they were asking Keith to do. Keith’s eyes widened at the thought then lowered in shame. They weren’t asking him to do anything. Keith had been the one who set this in motion. Keith was the one who talked all big and brave when everyone tried to warn him of the consequences of his actions. “Y-yeah. You’re right.” 

Keith rubbed his temples a little harder. The feeling of nausea got to the point where he felt his mouth water and the back of his neck went cold. What was worth all of this? He’d been living fine on his own before. It wasn’t perfect, it was a far cry from perfect. He lived in a storage locker for Christ’s sake. But he had his own rules, and he lived by them, and he was the only person impacted by the choices he made. Keith blinked suddenly and looked up at Lance, his eyes sparking with recognition before they started to dull.

Lance’s eyes widened in that moment. He recognized that look. He knew for a split second, there was a part of Keith that remembered him, even if it faded back into nothing. He reached up and touched Keith’s cheek, trying to coax him back to him. He didn’t have to remember. Not yet. But he couldn’t lose himself either. “Are you okay? Do you need to rest?”

Hunk sat back in his chair and watched the two of them. He glanced over at Shiro, then Pidge, before he looked back at the lovers and cracked a tiny smile. “Hey, so…we don’t have to talk about this right now if it’s not good, but we do have to figure something out soon.” 

Keith wavered in his chair, falling into Lance. “Something was-” he shook his head. “Rest. Yeah, that would be good.” He nuzzled back into Lance’s hand, letting it take some of the weight he was feeling. His eyes closed.

Lance nodded and helped Keith up. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.” He said more to the others than to Keith, and he carefully guided him to the bedroom.

As soon as the familiar scent of their bedroom surrounded him Keith blindly reached for the bed and fell into it, fully clothed and above the covers his face pressed into his pillow.

Lance sighed and carefully pulled off Keith’s shoes. “let me get you changed for bed at least…”

“Do what you need to. I’m sorry. I don’t feel right.” Keith hugged the pillow a little closer. “I’m sorry, I did what you told me not to. I couldn’t help it.”

“Don’t apologize. Just let me help you.” Lance started to get his pants off since that was easier. “Let me get you changed okay?”

“I’m not stopping you.” And Keith wasn’t. He was still as a ragdoll when Lance started to pull off his clothing, barely having the energy to lift his hips from the bed so Lance could get his belt and pants off, but he did manage to lift his arms up when he got to his shirt. 

Keith hissed as the cold hair touched his back. “Eeng.”

Lance frowned at the black lines that marked Keith’s back. The last time he had seen them was at the very beginning, when they just started being together. He slid a hand up over one line and sighed. “Keith, let your wings out.” He murmured, backing up so he wouldn’t get whacked in the face. 

Keith stubbornly shook his head like a child refusing his vegetables, but the touch Lance placed to his back made the god groan. His touch was like water spilling over his back, gentle ice-cold water soothing the burning in his flesh. “It’d been getting worse since talking about Nizha.” Keith whimpered like mention of the gods name was now a detriment to him. 

Keith knew what his body was doing, he was aware of the law of cause of effect. “I don’t want to scare you.”

“You won’t scare me. I promise.” Lance grabbed the same shirt he had given Keith before when his wings were out. “Just do it so you feel better.”

Keith moaned with a gentle pain. His wings didn’t appear on his back like they had every time before. Instead they grew from the blackened stripes. Folded in tight and looking broken and bloodied, two black avian appendages stretched outward from the pale white flesh beneath it. Bones cracked and whined as ligaments, tendons, and joints realigned themselves. Tiny spots of blood pooled then drained into tiny rivers down the flanks of Keith’s back, slowing then coming to a complete stop when the transformation was complete. 

Keith laid panting on the bed, stomach flat against the mattress, his arms folded into his sides and his legs pulled up, without disturbing his waist, into a fetal position. From his body spread deep onyx wings, blacker than a moonless night, deeper than the obsidian of Keith’s claws which now clung to the bed. Veins of amethyst feathers ran in blended stripes through the midnight hues and glinted in the lamp light of their room with every labored breath. 

For all that Keith knew about Lance, he should have been shocked, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t be. This was the Suzaku he met for the first time. The embodiment of the darker deeds he committed. So it was no surprise to him that he needed to revert to that version of himself to deal with the upcoming battle. 

“Does it feel any better?” Lance whispered, waiting a moment before he carefully put some clothing on Keith, his hand rubbing his shoulder a little when he finished. 

“No.” Keith whispered, his face turning up to Lance. Soft violet glow in tear filled eyes. “I don’t want to do this.” His voice was barely above the sound of a broken breath, afraid the others may hear his fear even though they were miles away now.

“I know. No one does.” Lance gently stroked Keith’s hair as he sat on the bed beside him, so Keith could rest his head in his lap if he wanted to. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered, his own tears coming to his eyes. 

With a little bit of effort, Keith laid his head against Lance’s thigh sensing the invitation. His wings came down to fold back and lay limp on the bed. Each one seeming to move on its own as if they were separate from the boy now in Lance’s lap. “You didn’t do this.”

“Just let me apologize okay?” Lance gently played with Keith’s hair once his head was on his lap. “You don’t have to agree with me, but I want to, and I need to.” He pushed some hair out of his lover’s face as he looked down at him. “And I will be with you the whole time, okay?”

“And if I said I didn’t want any of you to see this side of me?” Keith turned his head away, feeling his first bout of real shame in the creature that he was. He was already feeling it dampen his emotions, sucking the sharpness of a living reality away and leaving everything dull and gray. 

“Why? You’re still beautiful.” Lance moved his fingers through those ebony locks and spoke softly. “They’ve all seen that side of you already, haven’t they? And they’re still here supporting you.” He smiled a bit. “And this isn’t going to change my love for you. I knew what I was getting in to when I tried to woo you the first time. I’m not afraid of what you are. I love you.”

“I’m the type of person who can kill their dearest friends for their own benefit.” Those pain filled eyes looked up at Lance, though the tears had dried up. “What If I can hurt you too?”

“You won’t though. Everyone can do things they don’t want to do, but that doesn’t mean they will.” Lance kept that smile on his lips for Keith. “I trust you. They trust you. You don’t need to worry about hurting us. The Nizha thing is out of your control. Someone else set this up, not you.”

“I know, it’s just difficult for me to swallow.” Keith sighed wincing a little as his ears started to twitch getting longer and pointed toward the tip. He turned his head into his lap, his arms covering him, even as small fangs started to form in his mouth making the dark god whimper.

“Does it hurt?” Lance pulled his hand back when Keith covered his head with his arms, and he sighed. “What can I do to make you feel better?”

“Stay with me. And don’t hate me for what I become.” Keith pressed his cheek into Lance’s leg, his breath coming in chilled pants against his slacks.

“I will never leave you, and I will never hate you.” Lance rubbed the back of Keith’s shoulders, careful not to touch the wings. “I love you for all that you are, even when you can’t love yourself.”

Keith winced at that. He never thought of it that way. “Is that what it is?” He lifted the soft glow of his eyes up to Lance. 

“I don’t know. You seem like you don’t like yourself when you’re like this. There are times I feel that way about myself too, but you love me then as well.” Lance smiled at him. “I love you for everything you are, no matter what.”

“I love you.” Keith lifted his hand up and touched Lance’s cheek. He was so soft, so warm. When had that happened? Wasn’t Lance always cooler than him. Like refreshing water. “More than anything.” His blackened talons slid down one fleshy cheek leaving a thin line of crimson in its wake. Keith’s eyes glowed a little brighter as he leaned up to lick cut.

“Forgive me.” He whispered against the skin he tasted. 

“Keith…” Lance closed his eyes as that talon sliced his flesh. He didn’t want to wince at the slight pain. But that feeling subsided when he felt Keith lick his blood. “Don’t let it hurt you.” He whispered. He was sure if Keith thought about it, he’d realize he was tasting a god’s blood, not a human’s.

Keith studied Lance’s face for the swell of a minute, his eyes getting colder every second that passed in the small bedroom. The warmth Suzaku supplied was now a dark chill. His body taking in the heat surrounding him to the point where light even appeared to bend and return burning with cold fire. 

“Are you sure this is what you want to see, little god?”

Lance looked confused for a moment, but then he shook his head and gently touched his cheek. “I want to see you whole again. That doesn’t mean you need to try to scare me. It won’t work.”

“I’m not trying to scare you. I know you’re not human. I can taste it.” Keith licked the wound again. “It would take more than that to scare away someone as stubborn as you. I am the one who is scared. I buried this side of myself eons ago and now it’s coming back because I’m too afraid to do anything without shutting everything else down first.” A cold dry laugh escaped Keith paling lips. “Pathetic.”

“That’s okay though isn’t it? You need to do what’s best for you, and I will be here to bring you back to yourself when you’re done.” Lance managed a little smile, even if it made more blood well up on his cheek. “And yes, I am not human, so you don’t need to worry about me as much okay?”

Keith placed his hand over Lance’s chest and then looked up at his face. “Try not to take anything I do in this form to heart. This is not the me I want to be. The me I want you to know is still sleeping there with red wings, waiting for you to come home to him. We can pretend, okay?”

“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.” Lance’s brow furrowed. “But you should know, since you know I’m not human, this is the you I first met. This is the you I first fell in love with. There’s nothing you can do in this form that will hurt me.”

Keith sat up with those words, his brow furrowed in confusion and edging on the border of pain. “How? How is that possible?”

“I can’t tell you much because you’ll try to remember.” Lance touched Keith’s forehead as if that would soothe the other god. “Trust me, okay?”

“I trust you more than anything. Even like this. You’re the only person that I trust.” Keith turned his head into Lance’s hand his lips kissing the pads of his palm. 

“Then know that you can go as dark as you need to, and I will always be here with you.” Lance watched him and touched his lips after the kiss to his palm. “I am not afraid of you. I am only ever afraid of you leaving me. And if you do, I will fight everyone and everything to bring you back.”

“Now who’s the scary one.” Keith forced a smile.

“Me? Is that scary?” Lance blinked. “Not to you right?”

“If a possessive god was enough to frighten me, do you really think I’d be in the position I am now?” Keith quirked an eyebrow up as he looked around himself to emphasize the lap he currently laid on. 

“I suppose not.” Lance pouted. “I don’t know how to be scary anyway.”

“That’s not true. I’ve seen you glare down Genbu in regards to me.” Keith felt his words grow distant as if they were standing at the edge of mist and the more he tried to get a hold of an emotional grasp the further the words moved away, it was exhausting. “I’m going to rest now. It’s getting too hard to stay awake.”

“Okay I will be here when you need me.” Lance slid out from beneath his lap so he could rest. 

“Will you let me apologize now?” Keith whispered sleepily. “I don’t think you have anything to apologize for, but if it’ll help you feel better, then I won’t stop you.” Lance smoothed some of Keith’s hair.

“Mmm.” One of those pointed ears twitched, feeling calmed by his gentle touch. “You’re too kind to me.”

“No such thing. Just rest okay?” Lance watched him, still stroking his hair until he fell asleep.

 

Pidge stabbed at the yolk on her plate, watching the viscous yellow fluid drain down and get caught up in the edges of a perfectly browned wheat toast. Bacon and sausage sat off to the side, still steaming and juicy from the skillet. It all tasted like paper. Soggy salty paper, and from the way Shiro and Hunk were staring at their plates she got the distinct feeling was mutual. It was hard for any of to find enjoyment in anything this morning. Even Hunk’s cooking. Her ear twitched when she heard the click of Lance’s bedroom door. 

A collective look shot about the room at the sight emerging into the kitchen. Keith stood possessively beside Lance. His skin a shade or two closer to fallen snow. His normally vibrant wings were sleek black and folded behind him with raven and amethyst iridescence moving like a living wave down each quill. The harsh morning light did very little to hide the violet glow of Suzaku’s eyes from under thick unkempt bangs. It had come to this. 

Keith walked through the room, his finger slipping under Lance’s jaw in a predatory display of ownership with little else beyond it. He flipped a chair around and sat down in one smooth motion with his chest and arms over the back of it. 

“Morning.” Keith’s voice was monotone and echoed with hallow obligation.

Lance gave an apologetic look to his friends when Keith walked past him and sat in the chair. The cut on his cheek was an angry red line, and he knew they noticed it as soon as they saw him given the worried expressions on their faces. They were worried for Keith, of course, but also for Lance, since he would seem like the weakest of all of them to the blackened bird of prey. 

He gently rested a hand on the back of Keith’s neck and leaned down to speak quietly. “Please eat something okay?” He knew it was better to ask than tell at this point. So that’s all he did as he grabbed a plate for himself and went to sit on the loveseat.

Keith’s feathers ruffled and quivered at Lance’s touch, and he nodded obediently to the request as he started to eat. 

Shiro arched a brow and sipped his coffee, observing the interplay between the two former gods. He shouldn’t be surprised by Lance’s expert handling of Suzaku. This was the Suzaku Lance wanted all those years ago. The one God no one in their right mind could have, and Lance did just that. Even seemed to remember a few tricks along the way. A squeeze to the back of his neck by someone deemed “friendly’ was a surefire way to keep him docile.

Lance ate quietly, but his eyes were on Keith the entire time. He watched to make sure the other god was able to handle things as they were. Then again, the other three were all Suzaku’s friends back in the day. It was likely he would be totally fine with Shiro, and he would at least tolerate Hunk and Pidge, so Lance wasn’t really too worried.

“Did you clean that?” Hunk looked at Lance, eyeing the mark on his cheek. 

“Yes it’s fine.” Lance knew Hunk was trying to make sure there weren’t any other wounds they should be aware of. “I’m okay. We’re ok.”

Keith eyed Hunk with a leveled glare but didn’t say anything about the questioning or the concern for the small mark on Lance’s face. Keith hadn’t meant to cut him but at that moment the desire to taste him was too high. It wasn’t a big deal. The wound would heal as if it were never there. It was insulting to think Keith’s talons caused an infection or the wound needed to be ‘cleaned.’ Keith let the transgression slide, however. Instead he lowered his chin down to his arms when he finished the last piece of toast, smirking to himself as he dipped the crust into the egg yolk. Did anyone at the table hazard a thought to how messed up THAT was?

Lance continued to watch Keith before he stood and put the kettle on for tea. Without Keith’s warmth, there was a chill that permeated Lance’s bones. 

Hunk shrugged a little and watched them. He kept his concern off his face, instead opting for a little smile. “Does it taste okay at least?”

“Always tastes good Hunk.” Keith offered a smile, which never made it to his eyes. He was going through the motions, and there was little more to it than that. “So, now that we’ve eaten-” Keith pushed himself away from the table, sliding the chair back with him. “What do we do now? Get Nizha down here?”

“Keith,” Shiro sighed. He’d nearly forgotten this side of the god. The side that had to shut himself down to do what had to be done. The judge, jury, and executioner. Shiro should have known that the Suzaku they’d come to know as Keith couldn’t bring himself to harm someone deemed as a friend. “We don’t want to rush into things. I know you want to get this over with but we have to consider-”

“It’s not exactly like that.” Keith cut Shiro off. “The longer I stay like this, the harder it’s going to be pull out of it. You know how it is Shiro.” Keith stretched his arms up and interlocked his fingers behind his head as he talked. 

“It’s not like we can text him ‘hey come down here so we can kill you.’” Hunk provided as he cleaned up a few dishes.

“We?” Keith cocked a brow but let it sit heavy on the group. “Well why not? It’s short and to the point. Why waste effort on anything else?” Keith rocked back on the chair, staying perfectly balance despite his wings. “No need for flowery words.”

“He knows what it is whether we tell him or not.” Lance sighed as he finished making his tea. “Is it better to just rip off the bandaid in this case?” He looked over at Keith. He knew he could eventually bring him out of this state, but he also knew Keith didn’t want to stay like that longer than he had to, so the sooner the better.

“Yes, But…” Pidge started to protest, but she simply cut herself off and shook her head. “Maybe the faster we get this over with, the better it’ll be.”

“So we agree? Time place? We fight. I win. Done and done and we can move on to the next one.” Keith got up from where he perched and walked over to the fridge, opening the door and appearing to sniff around in it. 

“Isn’t it a bit early to be cocky?” Shiro stood up his arms folding over his broad chest. Keith sighed and closed the door with his hip as he held a bottle of apple juice in his hand before he lifted himself to sit on the counter with impossible ease.

“Shiro, if I don’t approach this like I’m going to win, what’s the point of doing it at all? Nizha’s good. Scary good, and just like the rest of us, he doesn’t want to die. If I don’t win, where do you think that leaves me?” Keith took a long drink as he watched Shiro.

Lance stood next to Keith and gently rested a hand on his thigh. “We’ll win. We have no choice.” He said, his voice soft. “I have faith it’ll work out. It has to.”

Keith leaned against Lance’s arm, his head on the curve of his shoulder, docile. “Either way only one of us will walk away from the fight tomorrow. If Nizha wins Lance here will most likely try to take him down and if that doesn’t pan out?” Keith shrugged. “Well, we got pretty damn far.” 

“You’ll win.” Lance shook his head. “I refuse to believe anything other than that.” He patted Keith’s leg and looked at the others. “We all believe it, Don’t we?”

“Yeah.” Hunk chimed in, nodding even as he sat next to Pidge and took her hand. “Keith’s a badass. Nizha won’t know what hit him.”

“Hunk, he’s still our friend.” Shiro sighed shaking his head. The worst part of Keith’s apathy, was its contagion. 

“Some of us have to come up with our coping mechanisms and if that’s Hunks than let him be. We don’t all come with off switches.” Pidge looked up at Keith, her dislike for the change obvious on her features but she attempted to hide it behind her glasses.

Keith smiled coolly while his eyes peered into Pidge. “We don’t all get the luxury of avoiding getting our hands dirty either.” 

Hunk snorted a little and squeezed Pidge’s hand, both in thanks and in an attempt to comfort her. 

“We shouldn’t be fighting like this.” Lance winced. “No one likes this, okay? We can at least agree on that, but we all also need to give Keith our support. If you all can’t do that, then the door is right there.” His brows furrowed. He hated this, but they had no other option.

Keith turned his head into Lance’s shoulder, kissing as if rewarding good behavior. However, warmth appeared in the gesture. No one in the room was fooled by its appearance, the melting frost around Keith was reserved only for the man at his side the rest of the paled by comparison in importance. The gentle warmth shimmered in his violet eyes as Keith looked over the profile of his lover, but as soon as he turned back to them it vanished like a ghost failing to come into full sight.

“You’re right. Sorry.” Pidge sighed easing herself back into the love seat, leaning her shoulder into Hunk.

“No one wants this to be over more than me. I promise you.” Lance sighed and half leaned into Keith. He was so tired. All of this was taking a toll on him, and having his friends bicker didn’t help. 

Shiro nodded solemnly. He could see Lance’s hands trembling slightly, though he was clearly trying to hide it. “All right.” He really didn’t want to see Lance lose it the way he seemed to yesterday. “But we can’t have any fighting happen here. There are too many humans who live in this park.”

“Bellemont?” Keith lifted his head, his elven feline ears twitching as he looked around the room. “It’s a ghost town. Shouldn’t have to worry about hurting anyone over there.”

“That will work.” Shiro nodded.

“So who knows how to contact him?” Lance looked at Pidge, then at Shiro. 

“Like Hunk said, a text message should suffice. Why complicate things? We’re beyond the age of magic circles.” Keith said, distracted by his own fingers playing with the hair at the back of Lance’s neck.

“I meant who has that information.” Lance shook his head a little and looked at Keith, forcing a slight smile to his lips.

“I was joking when I said that.” Hunk sighed but nodded his head. “I can do it. I just…”

Keith turned his head to Hunk with flash of sympathy on his face. For Hunk to send that message, he would be sealing the fate of at least three people he cared about and sentencing one if not more to die.

Keith was about to speak up when Shiro rested his hand on the top of Hunk’s head. “We all have a roll to play. Sink or swim, right guys? No matter who does what, we’re in this together.”

Pidge shifted uncomfortably and looped her arm around Hunk’s, sitting as close to him as she could without pushing herself on him. “Do you want me to do it?” She whispered.

Lance shook his head and stepped away from the counter, grabbing Hunk’s phone before he could type out the text. “I’ll do it.” His hands still trembled slightly, but he sent out the message, making sure Nizha knew it was Lance who sent it, not Hunk. He couldn’t prevent the pain any of them would feel from this, but he could at least try to protect Hunk from the guilt. 

Keith watched Lance’s back as he leaned forward, resting his arms over his legs. “If it’s too much I can do it on my own.”

“Out of the question.” Shiro said without warranting Keith a glance.

“You can’t fight with me. You’ll all just be there to watch someone die.” Keith slipped off the counter, his wings flaring up before settling back down around him. “Shiro can handle it, but the rest of you?” Keith glanced about the room, these gods were not fighters. They didn’t have the scent of blood on them. No, he took the thought back.

“You,” Keith walked over to Lance again. “That’s what the scent is. Divine blood. You’re thick with it.” The scrutiny in Keith’s gaze showed narrowed eyes which darken with desire upon the realization.

Lance looked at Keith innocently as if that alone would prevent him from thinking too far into it. “We’re all going with you. We need to be there for you, so please let us support you, even if you don’t want us there.” He lifted his hand to touch Keith’s cheek. “And I need to be there. I need to see everything.” 

Keith leaned his head into his hand as a shudder ran through him. “And the other two?” Keith whispered in mild dreamy concern.

“We’re coming too.” Pidge relaxed at little seeing Lance’s control over Keith. At the very least, it made him calmer in the moment. 

Lance nodded a little and kept stroking Keith’s cheek. “Remember they’re part of your group. Whether they can fight or not, you need their support.”

“I know,” Keith’s voice continued to be soft and the glow in his eyes died down until they were his usual gentle blue. “But they shouldn’t have to see the death of a friend.” 

“We’ve seen worse…” Hunk shook his head. “We agreed to help you, and we appreciate that you’re trying to protect us, but we are all in.” He looked at Keith and offered him a sad smile when he witnessed the change. “We will all just have to comfort each other. I suggest food.”

“You shouldn’t have to bear this on your own. No one’s shoulders are that strong.” Pidge smiled. “And Hunk will cry if you turn down his cooking.” She added with a shrug and a twitch of a feline ear.

Keith shook his head hiding it more in Lance’s hand. “Alright. I know when I’m beat.”

“Plus we all know Hunk’s cooking is the best.” Shiro shook his head a little. “And we wouldn’t want him flooding us out of the RV with dragon tears.” He chuckled softly before the serious look returned to his face.  
Lance pulled Keith closer and kissed the top of his head. 

Keith leaned into the kiss, his wings ruffling in pleasure at the simplest touch from his lover. Hunk smiled at the two of them, watching and admiring the two gods. Even when Keith all but shut himself down to do the unthinkable, Lance brought out the warmth in him. Hunk didn’t care how he originally knew Suzaku. The one who stared so lovingly at the eastern god was the one he truly called his friend. The black winged devil who could casually talk about battle was a fade of the past. A necessary evil. Hunk was glad he got to see him before their next fight. It reminded him why things had to be this way. “I haven’t gotten a message yet. What do you want to do in the mean time? Waiting is going to drive us crazy.”

Keith shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what we do.” But his eyes danced between Lance’s conveying a completely different message.

“I would like to check on something before we go into it.” Pidge murmured, watching Keith. “But I would have to leave for a little to do that.” She glanced at Hunk, then at Shiro. And at least one of us should make preparations for after.”

Lance nodded a little at Pidge’s suggestion. “That sounds like a good idea, and then you can text me to let me know when he gets back to you”

“For preparations?” Keith arched a brow as he laid his head on Lance’s shoulder. 

“Aa, yeah depending on what we do after. You know like if it goes the way we need it to, there are a few things that we should probably get ready. Cause _they_ aren’t going to like it. They might get more aggressive.” Hunk said as he stood up, helping Pidge to her feet. 

Keith nodded his head, seeming to be appeased by the answer. “Can never be too prepared, right?”

Pidge stood and held onto Hunk’s hand for a moment before she looked Lance. “Call me if something happens.”

Lance nodded a little, careful of Keith’s head. “I will.”

Keith tilted his head up, his nose nuzzling up to Lance’s neck.

Lance waited for the others to leave. He was grateful for it, if only because he just wanted to be alone worth Keith for a little while if things went really wrong. “How are you feeling?” He kept his voice soft.

“I don’t know.” Keith admitted, burying his face into Lance’s neck. “Like I just want this right now. Like this could be the last time I get to hold you.”

“Then let’s go lay down so you can hold me.” Lance whispered into his hair as he nuzzled.

Keith nodded his head but didn’t move for a few more seconds. When he did, he dragged his finger under Lance’s chin as he made his way to the bedroom, laying himself down and curling his face into the pillow taking in their scent.

Lance steeled himself before following Keith. He had to be the stronger one when it came to the emotions of the situation. He got into the bed and half curled over Keith, pressing his face until his shoulder.

“Are you upset with me?” Keith whispered, his lips brushing against his ear when he turned his head to speak, his own elfish ones twitching slightly.

“No, of course not. Why do you think that?” Lance made no move to pull away.

“Because I upset everyone else.” Keith nuzzled. “And Hunk acting like I could hurt you.” 

Lance blinked, but he smiled softly. “That wasn’t so much that as him asking if you had scratched me in other places. It’s happened before.” He kissed Keith’s shoulder. “Sometimes you got a little overzealous and left long claw marks down my back.”

“I don’t remember.” Keith whispered, childishly apologetic

“It’s ok.” Lance kissed that shoulder again. “You have me now. That okay too isn’t it?”

“I don’t know if this means anything coming from me right now, but I want you to hear it at least once before the fight.” Keith tilted his head for Lance another shiver riding through his body, and those eyes maintaining the tender warmth. “I love you.”

“It means everything.” Lance looked at Keith and smiled slightly at the warmth Keith was trying to maintain. 

Keith reached one of his talons up to Lance’s face but there was a flicker of thought as his eyes moved between his fingers and cut on Lance’s cheek, and he hesitated.

“It’s ok.” Lance leaned in to nuzzle at that hand. “Just don’t push your talons in if you don’t want to cut me.” He didn’t want Keith to be afraid of hurting him. He didn’t want him to avoid him.

“You’re the last person I want to hurt.” Keith stroked his thumb over Lance’s lips. “I have never been so possessed by another living person.”

“Good. If I possess you, that means no one can take you from me.” Lance nuzzled that hand before he turned to kiss his palm. 

“How did you do it?”

Lance blinked a little before he kissed his palm again. “How do I possess you?”

“That’s what I wanted to know.” Keith watched Lance move his lips over his palm and his eyes started to glimmer.

“Well, I mean, you’re the one who said I do. All I know is that I just love you. If that possesses you, then I don’t know how to explain it.” Lance smiled against Keith’s palm and looked at him. “I will love you any way you want me to love you.”

“If there’s one thing I can do for you, right now. Name it. I’ll make it happen just for you.” Keith whispered as though he had the power to offer Lance the world if he asked it of him.

Lance’s brows furrowed as he looked at Keith. Did he even know what he was asking? Did he know it was kind of impossible for Lance to answer when Keith couldn’t remember him? He sighed a little and shook his head slightly. “Don’t leave me.” There was a moment of vulnerability there, but it was quickly replaced by Lance’s normal, loving expression that he showed Keith whenever his lover looked at him.

Keith smiled, tiny fangs barely visible against the white of his teeth. “How could I?”

Lance shook his head a little. “I don’t know. But that’s all I want. Don’t leave me. In any way.” He pouted a little.

“Say you already had that, what else would you want. If it was your last day on earth.” Keith slipped his arm around Lance’s slender shoulders. 

“To hold you.” Lance looked at him and shifted so he could get his arms around him. 

“You’re doing that right now too.” Keith smiled and kissed his cheek. “That’s all you want?”

“In every sense.” Lance turned his head to catch that kiss on his lips. “To be with you until time stops.”

“Nnmph” Keith groaned a little into the kiss. He swallowed as he looked up at Lance, feeling his heart speed up while watching the taller man pulled his body over him.

“Isn’t that what you want too?” Lance kissed Keith again and pressed himself closer to his lover. “Isn’t that the look you gave me when the others decided it was time to leave?” He lifted a hand to touch Keith’s cheek. 

Keith nuzzled his hand, eyes closing part way as he let his lower body squirm. He was responding to something inside Lance. The sense of ownership, possession. Despite Keith’s power, he submitted himself to the sensation and thrilled to it.

“That’s a yes then.” Lance chuckled before he kissed Keith with a passion he knew the other man would understand. He might not remember their time together, or that Lance had fallen for the darker form of the bird first, but his body would at least know the way he pressed against him, the way his hands moved and slid up his arms, pulling them up with them and settling them over his head. He held his wrists firmly as he kissed him again.

Keith licked his lips after the kiss, his chest moving rapidly with his panting breaths. He leaned up and tried to nip at Lance, his eyes darkening. Violet light starting to glint inside the hungry pools. 

“Ah ah. No biting hm?” Lance smirked and kept holding Keith’s wrists firmly above his head. “Or I’ll let go of you and won’t hold you down like this.” He leaned down and whispered into his ear. “And I know you like it when I do this, don’t you?”

“You certainly got cocky.” Keith’s moistened his lips and bit back a moan, but there was little he could do against the shiver that slipped down his spine all way to the tips of his feathers, causing them to flutter.

“Well there’s no point in hiding that I know you, and that I’ve fucked you like this.” Lance smirked. “I know what you like. I know what makes you happy and what makes you beg for more.” He slid his leg between Keith’s and rubbed a little. “What drives you crazy.”

Keith heard a whimper escape his lips before he could entertain the thought to stop it. “What drives me crazy?” Narrow hips pulled down and tried to grind harder into Lance’s thigh. Keith mewled. Modern day jeans had so many painful restrictions, yet the friction felt more intense than anything he could remember.

“Yes.” Lance licked the shell of his ear and nipped at the lobe. He knew they would be just a little more sensitive than normal, and so as he did that, he rubbed with his thigh again. 

Keith cried out now, his ears twitching then flicking against the assault. In his normal form, his ears were sensitive enough, but like this? There might as well have a stream line connection between them and the strained bulge between his legs. “La.. ance!”

“See?” Lance smirked as he licked that ear again, rubbing more as he slowly pulled his hands from Keith’s wrists. He reached down to undo Keith’s pants, lifting himself enough to push the offending cloth down before he resumed his rubbing, smirking at the way his heat peeked just out of the top of his underwear.

Even without Lance’s hands holding them Keith’s wrist stayed bound above his head. He felt the electricity in the air. He was teetering on the edge of something dangerous with Lance. He felt it in him, boiling under the surface. He saw it in the barely contained need in his cerulean eyes. 

A part of Lance was starving beyond sexual appetite. “You want it. To devour me. Don’t you?” Keith purred tipping his toe over the line and as he did he felt a jolt ride through him making him squirm in pleasure. “You can have it, it’s your right. Take what’s yours.” 

Something dark twisted through Lance at that look and at those words. Keith couldn’t possibly have known what he was doing to his lover, even as that smaller body purposely squirmed in a way that could only entice Lance more. A low growl started in his throat, and his eyes darkened. For a moment, his pupils started to thin, but he forced that aspect of himself back. He couldn’t let Keith see just who he was. Not when they were like this. Not when they still had something to do. So instead he leaned down and kissed him, sliding his hand over the bulge in the other man’s underwear until his fingers brushed against his tip. “Devour? No.” He growled as his lips traveled along his cheek and down his jaw. “Then I couldn’t keep having you.” He smirked as his lips went to his neck, and he licked over the fading marks of his last bite. “And I will keep having you. I will possess you utterly, but I will not devour you.” He licked again before he bit, unable to help himself as he tasted that sweet life-blood.


	12. On What Wings Dare He Aspire?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

When the others had left the night before, the sun was just dipping below the horizon. Now it was just peeking over it. The golden rays starting to filter in through the blinds over the small window in the bedroom. Lance sat with his back against the headboard, one hand resting on Keith’s head, his fingers threaded through his hair. Both of them had that slight sheen of sweat from a night of intense sex, and right now, his lover was sleeping peacefully with his head in his lap. Normally, Lance would stroke his hair and work to soothe the smaller man, but instead he was content to watch him. He twirled a purple feather through his fingers and he smiled a little. 

He knew this wasn’t the time to be happy. He knew he should be focused on the task at hand, but he couldn’t help it. The dark-feathered, almost-emotionless Suzaku that was lying across his lap was almost the same Suzaku that had brought Seiryuu back to life upon their first meeting. Almost, since this time he wasn’t trying to kill him, though the claw marks up his back might indicate otherwise. This was his first love, his only love, and he would do anything he could to protect that. Even let his own darkness take over.

And it was, slowly but surely. The cold that crept through his bones wasn’t the same cold that flowed through him those four hundred years without his lover. It was a different kind of cold. An icy chill that permeated every cell of his being with its darkness. It had never gotten this far before. Seiryuu was always the compassionate one. He was gentle and kind. The most tranquil lake, the warmest hot spring. Rarely did the tempest storm inside of him, but even when it did, it was never like this. It never threatened to consume him, and he never wanted to let it.

Keith’s short disappearance triggered something inside him, and it tugged at him even now, even while he looked down at the sleeping bird. Black and purple, like the midnight sky without of the moon and the stars. Twilight, which, when reflected in the water, only seemed to darken its pitch. This time, Lance’s darkness had come before Keith’s, but he was still struggling to keep it back. Keith at least vaguely remembered what it was like to live like this. Lance never did. He was scared. He was worried that he would lose the part of himself that Keith loved so much. But he also knew he needed to let go just a little more. One more finger letting go of the cliff’s edge. He didn’t need to fall into it, but he needed to feel it, or he would never be able to devour Nizha.

And almost on cue, his phone buzzed. Lance slowly pulled his hand from Keith’s hair and grabbed the offending technology from the shelf. Hunk’s text was short and to the point. “Two hours. Shiro and I will pick you up. Pidge will meet us there.”

He sighed and put the phone down before he resumed touching Keith’s hair, stroking it gently. “Keith, it’s time to wake up.”

"Mm." Keith's shoulders shifted. His wings opening and exposing a long white strip of naked flesh down to his feet. He made no other move.

“Hey…” Lance slid his fingers from Keith’s hair and down his cheek. “I’m sorry for disrupting your sleep…but we have to get up now.”

“Nnm. I can’t do it anymore.” Keith murmured as he turned and licked at Lance’s finger. “You took it all out of me.”

“Then don’t lick me.” Lance chuckled a little at Keith’s clearly half-asleep state, but he tapped his lips gently before pulling his hand back. “Hunk texted. We need to wash up before he gets here with Shiro…” He knew the mention of the others would dampen the cuddle mood Keith was in after their night, but he also knew it needed to be done.

Keith’s eyes snapped open. The vibrant glow in his purple eyes harsh and cold. He pulled himself into a sitting position with no eagerness, only a simple fluidity which continued to follow him as he stood up and opened the small wood panel closet. He laid clothing on bed then walked to the bathroom to turn on the shower. Every move he made was efficient and sterile.

Lance sighed and steeled himself before he got up and followed him into the bathroom. “Hey.” He rested a hand on Keith’s arm and shook his head. “I will be with you okay?”

“You don’t need to worry about me.” Keith turned his passive expression up to Lance and pressed his hand against the center of the taller man’s chest. “You take care of yourself, and guard this. No matter what happens.” He stepped into the shower, washing away the memories of last night. He didn’t need to go into a fight looking like a backstreet dime whore. 

“You understand that you can’t help me during this, right?” Keith asked staring straight forward.

Lance hesitated outside of the shower before he got in and helped Keith wash up. He remained quiet for a moment, but then he sighed and nodded. “Of course I understand. I hate it, but I understand.” He forced his hands to stop trembling as he washed Keith’s back. “But…if the worst happens, I won’t control myself. You understand that don’t you?”

“If the worst happens, I won’t be alive to stop you.” Keith didn’t blink. “Nizha knows he’s dead no matter who wins today. It’s becomes a matter of how many of us he’ll take down in the process. He knows that.” 

“I know.” Lance sighed and closed his eyes. “I won’t let him take you from me, though…”

Keith shook his head. “You can’t step in.” He turned those cold eyes onto Lance. “Do you understand? No matter what.”

“Then you can’t die, no matter what.” Lance’s eyes hardened when Keith turned those cold eyes to him. “If I can’t prevent your death, you are not allowed to die.”

Keith nodded his head. “That’s the plan. But I can’t go into this with a safety net.” He walked out of the shower and started to dry off. “He won’t have anyone to run in and save him from me. Fair is fair.”

Lance remained in the shower, bowing his head as he tried to calm his thoughts. “I won’t challenge you. I won’t argue with you either.” He slowed his breathing and tried to focus on the water as it spun around the drain. That darkness was growing, and he clenched his fists to try to keep it at bay. “Plan…or not. Don’t you dare lose.”

Keith turned to face him, his hand on his hip with a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “Don’t doubt me, and I won’t. If you’re planning for my death, then a part of you has already given up on me. Is that what’s going on Lance?” Keith challenged.

“Of course not.” Lance calmed enough to lift his head. “I believe in you more than I believe in myself.” 

Keith strode over to Lance and took his chin in his hand, pulling it down to him. “God’s thrive on faith not platitudes. So, you know I’ll win right? Give me your blind devotion and I’ll show you a miracle.”

“Do you think I’m being insincere?” Lance’s eyes dulled slightly at Keith’s words. “Is that all you want? Blind devotion?”

“For this fight?” Keith’s glowing eyes danced between Lance’s as he let him go. “It’s what I need. It’s hard on you, and you’re scared for me. I understand that.” The smaller god sighed as he dressed, pulling on fitted black pants and a zip down sleeveless vest. The clothing hugged close yet provided free movement. 

“But I won’t lose.” Fire arched from Keith’s finger tips. The characters of his regained mansions blazed up against his flesh then melted down into his skin as cold passionless eyes flitted about room landing on Lance.

“From anyone else, fine. But please don’t ask me to be insincere. Trust me to have faith in you. I do. I always did. I always will.” Lance finally stepped out of the shower and dried himself off, his eyes still dull. 

“When did I ask for insincerity?” Keith cocked his head to the side. There was no accusation in his voice, only mild confusion. “Did I say I wanted insincere trust?” He leaned himself against the wall waiting for Lance. 

“I asked if you thought I was being that way, but you never answered me.” Lance shook his head as he dried off. “I couldn’t handle it if you thought that.”

Keith sighed, his arms folding over his chest as he stared at the RV door. “I don’t doubt you nor your feelings for me. I’m aware of what’s riding on this fight and that it goes beyond me. And somehow it has something to do with you, but everyone is afraid to tell me,” He rubbed his temples. “For obvious reasons.” He continued. “I do not believe your feelings for me are insincere. If they were you wouldn’t have been able to do what you did last night.” 

Keith stretched his wings up. Each feather captured the light of the fledgling sun, making them glisten as though made from the purest crystals. “I’ve given you my heart. You will need to find a way to return it to me once this is over.” The words lacked any tonal depth. Keith spoke as though he were reiterating a message someone had left for Lance on the counter. 

“Are you ready? They’ll be here soon.”

Lance felt the slight pang in his heart at Keith’s lack of tone, but he pushed it aside and simply nodded. He reached out and touched one of Keith’s hands, letting his fingers linger for a moment as if that could convey just how much he actually understood, even if his emotions seemed to get in the way. “You will win, and when you do, this will hopefully make all the sense in the world.” He finished drying himself off and pulled on some clothes, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “And if it doesn’t make sense, I will help you understand.”

“That’s the goal right?” Keith lifted his hand to rest it on Lance’s shoulder. It wasn’t because he felt the need for personal comfort or connection, but he knew it was something people did. Lance was obviously upset, he was displaying all the typical signs of mental and emotional duress. “And you won’t be in so much pain. You’re not very good at hiding it you know? You’ve been through a lot. It’s not unexpected.”

Lance blinked a little when Keith touched his shoulder. When Keith was like this, he wasn’t that great at being comforting, and it showed in the slightly awkward gesture. “I’m fine,” he said, knowing that he didn’t mean it and that Keith would know it too, but he hoped that Keith would just let the words be what they were. The bird had shut himself off. He shouldn’t pretend to understand what to do or how to comfort Lance. He just had to let him be. “And I don’t need you to worry about me right now. I need you to focus on winning.” 

“Alright.” Keith nodded his head letting his arm drop and fold against his chest. His wings opened more and there was a small ruffle in his feathers and his head tilted up. “They’re here.”

Lance nodded and opened the door for him, waiting for Keith to leave the RV before he locked up. 

Hunk waved from the passenger side and stuck his head out of the opened window. “Hop in back you two.”

Lance said nothing as he climbed into the bed of the truck and looked at Keith.

Keith climbed in behind Lance, shifting his wings in to allow them to fit comfortably behind him as he sat his body against the wheel well. He turned his head to the window, his expression focused but his eyes were unseeing of anything directly in front of him. Every possibility for the fight to come blazed through his mind. Endless possibilities and endless outcomes blurred out the world until it didn’t seem as though he were part of it. 

Lance closed his eyes as Shiro drove and he clenched his fists in his lap. This was it, wasn’t it? He couldn’t look at any of them right now. He didn’t want them to see him. 

The ride was silent, each person occupied with what was about to happen, and when they stopped, Keith slid to the edge of the tailgate. His legs dangling over the side a good foot or more from the ground. The sight of great black winged god swinging his feet off the back of a rusted-out pickup might have been humorous at any other time, but his blank glowing eyes gave the picture an eerie atmosphere. 

One brow quirked as Keith looked around the abandoned ghost town. Located just off the infamous Route 66 was the little town of Bellemont Arizona. Bikers had made the place a little bit of a haven, and it currently housed a live-in motel and a Harley Davidson store. The rest of the town was overgrown with thigh high grass and dotted wild flowers. Keith barely remembered the Minnesota winter he’d been pulled away from. 

A faded and paint chipped sign of the general store caught Keith’s gaze before it drifted down to the buildings lining a road of weeds and bramble. He had another reason he to come here. One he could not state out loud. He smelled it the air. Old power. His old power. He knew it as one might know the perfume of a long deceased relative. It made his body shiver. His eyes narrowed at a play of memories flashing unwanted before him. 

Without a word Keith walked onto the main road, feeling the tug of weeds snarled against his ankles and he stepped into the space between two buildings. His fingers slid along the old siding, upsetting webs and flaking paint along the way. Around the corner laid the burned out remains of what was once a two-story saloon. The blackened wood stood petrified from the acrid dessert air, leaving the struts and cross beams to stand like crucifixes

Lance’s eyes snapped open when the weight shifted and Keith walked towards what looked to be a burned out husk of some building or another. His lips twitched as he got out of the truck and walked towards him. “Keith?”

Hunk slid out of the passenger seat and walked towards the small car that pulled up beside them. He kept his eyes on the other two even as he stopped and waited for his partner to get out and stand at his side.

“I remember this place.” Keith whispered, every word sucking the warmth from the air. “I always wanted to return here to make sure it was real.”

“What?” It wasn’t because Lance didn’t hear him. In fact it was the complete opposite. He looked at the burned-out shell of the building and the cold surged again. He remembered what Keith told him. He remembered him mention those times he woke up alone with everything and everyone burned around him. But here? So close to where Lance had been for the better part of three centuries? Lance should have been able to feel Keith’s surge of power in that moment, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. He failed Keith when he was so close by. He failed him. 

The pain of the promise Meng Po made him break surged, and with each painful beat of his heart, the last of the warmth in his body was pushed out, replaced with ice. Lance closed his eyes and took several shuddering breaths, but they could not calm him. If he hadn’t already eaten that bitch, he would have torn her apart and made her watch as he ate each piece. When he opened his eyes again everything around him reflected back as shades of gray, and he turned his head away from Keith. He didn’t need him to see those black dragon eyes. He didn’t need him to see the red pupils that threatened to glow. Instead he walked back towards the truck. 

Shiro had seen the shift in Lance’s body before the younger man seemed to know what was happening. He grabbed a pair of sunglasses off the dash and walked toward him, handing them to him as he passed and stepped up beside Keith. 

Keith felt it. A familiar stab of pain inside his chest and the sweet scent of decay wafting up through the air. It wasn’t the rot, not yet. It was the syrupy sickly smell accompanying fresh death. The aromatic sign of corruption. He knew it well. Keith was trained to know it. To hunt it.

Keith turned after Lance. His eyes blazing. “La-” A metal hand on his should froze the god in place. “Shiro he’s-“

“Not your concern right now.” Shiro squeezed the boy’s shoulder. 

“But he’s-” Keith grit his teeth, fangs grinding.

Lance remained by the truck and put the sunglasses on, looking around and sighing a little. He told himself that he never wanted it to get this far, but here he was. He gave into that corruption so easily. He flexed his hands a little and looked over at Hunk and Pidge, who were walking towards him. For a moment, concern crossed Hunk’s features, but he just took Pidge’s hand and smiled at Lance, as though trying to let him know it was okay.

Lance nodded slightly when they passed him, Pidge gently poking his arm as they stepped past. Lance slowly turned and watched after them, letting them get to Keith’s side before he started walking back in that direction, the sunglasses not only hiding his eyes, but also making the colorless world seem more like the glasses’ fault and less like his own. 

“You’ll win,” Lance said, his voice seemed normal, but there was a slight hollow feeling to it. He meant it. He knew Keith would win. He would be there when he did. He would be there as long as Keith wanted him around. But he would never forgive himself for not being there when Keith really needed him all those years ago.

Keith cocked his head at Lance. ‘You’ll win’ is all the man had to say? The unprovoked comment was nearly as unsettling as the look of Lance hiding behind dark black sunglasses. 

“This why you chose it to be here? Something happened here?” Shiro asked breaking Keith’s attention on Lance as he reached out to touch one of charred beams.

“Don’t-!” Keith gripped Shiro’s wrist. “touch it.” He hissed out. Throwing Shiro’s hand back and making the elder god stumble. 

“Keith-!” Shiro blinked at the back of Suzaku’s head then down to his hand. The metal in his wrist was bent and warped into a heat filled thatch of melted springs and popped screws.

Pidge clucked her tongue a little and let go of Hunk’s hand to inspect Shiro’s arm. “I was working on a new one for you anyway,” she said quietly as she quickly adjusted what she could for him.

Lance sighed and rested his hand on Shiro’s shoulder, shaking his head slightly. Shiro was smart enough to know not to push it, and so he didn’t think he needed to do or say any more than that as he stepped around him and stood by Keith’s side. “Keith…”

“I thought you just had a flare for the dramatic.” Five heads lifted up to a lone white figure who stood at the edge of saloon’s foundation, like an actor waiting his cue to take center stage. “High-noon in a Arizona ghost town certainly gives a bit of a Dirty Harry vibe. Maybe Wyatt Earp. But it’s a bit more sentimental than that, isn’t it? Suzaku.” A bare pale hand laid flat upon one of the beams as pity filled the blue eyes staring down Keith. 

“Nizha, don’t.” Lance stared at the man resting his hand on the beam. His eyes narrowed from behind the sunglasses, but he remained beside Keith since he promised not to do anything. 

Keith stood stalk still as Nizha walked through the exposed ribcage of the saloon. “I was hoping for more, but this is what you decided to give me?” He motioned his hand to the whole of Keith. 

Keith stepped forward into the bar. Unfazed by his former partner’s taunts. Only Lance could have noticed the hesitation in the bird’s gait as he walked over the threshold. 

“Ghost then. Is that the one you have?” Keith asked. 

Lance stood back and watched, frowning. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head a bit. 

“You were on your way back to him.” Nizha looked at Lance then back to Keith. Then down to his hand as if he could still watch the memories. “They took your memories, even back then. You woke up confused and were completely taken in by wretched mortals.” Nizha’s brow furrowed and he bowed his head.

“Feeling remorse Nizha?” Keith pulled his dagger from his hand. Flame igniting down the steel as it grew into the length of a great sword. Orange and red fire bled away, revealing black and violet blaze flaring with lapping tongues down its edge.

Several sharp pains jabbed at Lance’s heart, but he showed no change in his expression. He watched, his eyes still narrowed behind the sunglasses. 

“This isn’t my choice.” Nizha’s hand hovered over the hilt of his blade, blond stands of hair falling loose from the ivory fedora and into his face. “When I came to you, I set this all up so I could face you with honest conviction. But you find it necessary to hide?” Nizha looked over at Lance.

“And you allowed this? You thought this was a sufficient response?”

Keith darted forward meeting Nizha’s ivory blade. The demi god not even flinching from staring down Lance as he blocked the shorter god. Keith’s face was flat as dark cold fire scraped down the radiant steel of Nizha’s sword. 

Nizha threw his elbow out forcing Keith to ride the blade down and careen to the side. The move narrowly missing a knee aimed for Keith’s gut.

“You made me like this, so anything I allowed is your fault.” Lance spoke calmly even as he watched the two of them clash. He glanced over at the others. Hunk was standing in front of Pidge, blocking the fight from her view, though she was still tinkering with Shiro’s arm. Lance shook his head as he looked at the older man before he focused on Keith and Nizha once more.

“Besides,” Keith added, hopping up to his feet with a sneer on his lips. “I don’t require permission.” 

The two gods barreled toward each other under the afternoon sun. Blurs of white and black grappling at a speed only Shiro tracked. Keith would appear suddenly, panting and crouched, his wings spread out behind him like a perched vulture before his image would vanish.

A crash came and all eyes turned toward the general store. The screeching of steel grinding against steel tempered Pidge’s sensitive ears and the small goddess crouched down with her arms over her head, but she never looked away. Her eyes were as hard and as focused as the rest. 

A cloud of smoke blew past the group out of the store’s broken display windows. Dark blood and clumps of feathers remained stuck to the glass shards, as Keith rolled to a stop. Nizha crawled out of the window and a moment to admire what he’d done, before closing the distance between he and the darkened god. His deceptively delicate hand gripping the base of one of Keith’s wings. From Keith’s dazed expression a sharp sober realization spread his features before pain contorted them and the abandoned streets of Bellomont were filled with the echo of hollow bones cracking.

Hunk immediately turned and helped cover Pidge’s ears before that echo cracked, but he paled at the sound and turned his head away.

Lance watched and stood his ground. Keith told him not to interfere, so he wouldn’t interfere, even if the low growl started in his throat. His fists clenched, and he narrowed his eyes behind the sunglasses. 

Keith panted when Nizha let him go. Once full awe-inspiring wings, laid limp and contorted beside his body. Sweat and blood dripping down into his eyes. Glass stabbed into his lower back and legs in shallow wounds, each puncture pulling and tearing at his flesh. 

Nizha slowly leaned over to him, his body nearly laying atop Keith’s as he panted into his ear. He wasn’t without damage. He’d lost his jacket somewhere along the way and his white under shirt was shredded with tiny cuts with one seeping wound staining his side, blood running free and absorbing into the leg of his pants. 

“Suzaku, you know what will happen if you lose don’t you?” He pulled Keith’s chin up to him and with a defiant grin he pressed his mouth harshly against the helpless god, grinning when he pulled away. His icy eyes on Lance. Nizha didn’t have an interest in Keith. Never so much as thought of Suzaku in any manner other than a friend. The kiss was for the attention of someone else. Blood now ran down his lip from where Keith had bit him, as the former mortal glared toward the eastern dragon. He lowered his blade down to Keith’s neck, sliding it with whisper of a touch over the pale column of the Keith’s neck. 

“Lance will come next and he won’t stand a chance.”

Hunk held his arm across Shiro’s chest keeping the northern god in place. He’d nearly jumped into the fray at witnessing Nizha crush Suzaku’s wings. 

“He’s avoiding saying Lance’s real name. The fight would be over if Keith is immobilized.” The yellow dragon stated. 

“It wouldn’t be a fair fight if he did that.” Pidge whispered using all of her focus to fix the immobilized arm of her friend. “Keith would be rendered even more helpless than he is now.”

“He’s not going to lose. Don’t be so quick to kill me.” Lance glanced over at Hunk as he stopped Shiro from jumping in before he focused his eyes on Keith. If only they knew that the only reason he hadn’t leapt in there was because he purposely froze his legs to the ground. Nizha had some nerve, taking the lips of his lover in front of him like that, and memory of it cause his blood to freeze in his veins. “Get up, Keith. You’ll win.”

Keith turned his head up to Lance, those eyes blazing with barely concealed rage. He gritted his teeth as he twisted his lower body around Nizha, arching his head back so the white blade slipped over him. His body rolled with liquid ease as Keith topped Nizha. Around his throat, Keith clutched his fingers, pressing the edge of onyx talons into the demigod’s flesh as his blade reformed one second then gouged into the demigod’s abdomen the next, tearing flesh and bone with a bestial growl.

“Take your mansion back.” Lance kept his eyes on Keith, but there was no warmth in his voice. “You’ll win.”

Keith nodded, lifting his hand up to drive it in and take back what belonged to him. A gasp broke from the bird’s lips with blood bubbling from his mouth. A spear of bone stretched up from Nizha’s wound, impaling Keith through his stomach. The manifestation shot straight through the god’s body, lifting him higher into the air with jerking cruel thrusts and leaving him suspended on a stalagmite of bone. 

Nizha panted, as he pulled his body away. His flesh and meat tearing when released himself from his self-grown extremity. 

“Fuck.” Lance muttered under his breath. “Keith don’t let him beat you.” He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles were white and blood started to drip from his palms. “I believe in you, Keith. I know it hurts, but I will make it better after. Don’t give up.”

“I don’t know if he can hear you anymore.” Nizha stood up and took a moment to gather his breath. His hand resting on the bone as if Keith’s limp body wasn’t just an inch above his head. Though he frowned as Keith’s blood, now running in rivers down the bleach white bone dripped on to his shoes. Nizha looked at it, wiping it off in the grass. He sighed before he turned to Lance. “Shall we end this?”

“W-wait.” Keith choked, lifting his head to the others. He appeared a shell of the broken bird. His flesh pale, his lips blue, and his body falling further down the spike under the weight of his dead wings. 

“W-wait.” Keith asked again. “Not him. Please. End it with me. Not him. Or any of them. Nizha!”

Nizha kept walking toward the group of four. His wounds healing with each step. 

“NIZHA!!!” Keith’s scream ignited a sphere of light which burst out of his chest, and in a matter of seconds it blanketed the town. Black feathers began to run down, stabbing into anything they could stick to. As the light settled, the four other gods adjusted their eyes, ropes of liquid fire exploded form each abandoned quill. Molten strings wrapped around Nizha, burning flesh and cloth. 

With a thud, and fall to one knee, Keith glared up at the demigod, a lasso of flame still tied around the bone where it melted and cracked freeing the bird.

“N-not them!” Keith snarled forcing himself to stand. Brilliant jewel colored wings flared behind him as dark sapphire eyes stared down to where his flames had tied Nizha. 

Keith’s raised his hand toward the god, palm open toward him. The character ‘net’ glowing brightly in the center. He closed his fist with a strangled cry. Keith fought the urge to look away as he crushed Nizha with burning ropes. He had to see this through.

Lance had taken steps between Nizha and the others. When those feathers came down, he lifted a bloodied hand and deflected the strays away from Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge. They were already watching the scene unfold with horror in their eyes. They didn’t need to get injured as well. Keith would never forgive himself if he hurt any of them. And he didn’t flinch as a feather sliced his cheek, almost in that same spot Keith’s talon had cut him before. “You will not take Keith from us, and he will not let you take us from him.” He snarled at Nizha as Keith crushed him with those ropes.

Tears built up but never fell down Keith’s cheeks as he walked forward leaving a thick globing trail blood behind him. After a few more steps he lowered himself to his knees. His head bending skyward as his fingers clutched the hole in his stomach. Gore seeped between his fingers.

“You can do it Keith.” Lance watched him. If he had the ability to cry, he would be shedding a lifetime of tears seeing the pain his lover was going through. He thought felt the anguish somewhere deep in his chest, but the darkness swallowed it. He promised not to step in, even though he really wanted to. “Just a little longer. Then I can help you.”

“Just a little…” Keith crawled forward, dragging his body through the weeds and dirt with one arm while the other tried to keep his innards inside. His wings making his path look like a sweeping stroke of a painter’s brush as they spread the blood behind him. 

Keith pulled himself up to Nizha, panting as he bent over him. “That…” Nizha whispered, smiling as he reached his hand up to cup Keith’s cheek. Steam rose from their contact and Keith smelled his burning flesh. “That’s the one who deserves to win.” Nizha’s thumb smeared blood under Keith’s eye. “Come on now, it’s not as bad as all that.”

Lance took slow steps towards them, ice trailing along the ground behind him. The air around him seemed to crack as though he were walking through thin sheets of ice. He crouched next to the two of them, looking at Keith before he frowned and turned his gaze to Nizha. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t allow Keith to hear it. So he simply reached out to Nizha’s wound and pulled Keith’s mansion out. He handed it to Keith, but he kept his eyes on Nizha, the red glow starting to show behind those black lenses. “Take it, and promise me you won’t look at me once you put it back.” He muttered to Keith, snarling a bit. 

“Lance,” Keith’s broken voice cracked as he reached to grip Lance’s sleeve, but he lacked the strength to keep the hold and he fell into the ground. He stared up the glowing mansion, his eyes dulling more as he lifted his hand to the light. It jumped from Lance and bled into Keith’s hand before the limb fell lifeless to the dirt.

“You don’t have much time Seiryuu.” Nizha looked over at Suzaku’s limp body then back to Lance. “I’m ready.” He sighed, closing his eyes.

“Fuck you.” Lance snarled, and during Keith’s distraction, he devoured the demigod. He should have felt even a little remorse for the action, but he didn’t. This was someone who, for whatever reason, tried to taunt Lance by taking Keith’s lips. He didn’t care if it was to make this easier on them. It only strengthened the hold the abyss had on him. Lance didn’t want to feel that way. Nizha was supposed to be a friend, and Lance was supposed to mourn him, but he just couldn’t now. He had been pushed too far. He finished eating Nizha’s body, and the sunglasses fell off his face as long, sharp, black horns grew from his head. Black scales covered his neck and chest, ripping flesh and cloth. His midnight tail curled over the ice that spread from the ground where Nizha’s body once rested. 

He reached out with an entirely scaled hand, blood dripping from clawless fingers. His hand hovered over the worst of Keith’s wounds, silver light moved from his palm and into the broken bird’s body, enveloping him in moonlight. His wounds closed, and the color returned to his face. 

When that light vanished, Lance’s body crumpled to the ground as he lost consciousness.

\-----

Keith felt weightless, the air around him thick and suffocating. It held a sweet scent he remembered, and it woken his impulses. Corruption. Purification.

“Nng.” Keith stirred, his body stiff as though it atrophied. “Seiryuu…”

Hunk already had a blanket-wrapped Lance in his arms, and he was just preparing to lift him to carry him to the bed of the truck when Keith stirred. “Oh good, you’re awake.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “And you remember?” He sighed and looked down at the black-scaled, icy body in his arms. Lance was breathing, though just barely. “You must be sore. Can you wait long enough for me to get him in the trunk? I can come back and carry you too.” He stood, careful of Lance’s tail as he shifted the dragon in his arms as though he weighed nothing. “Or maybe one of the others could help you walk.” He looked back over his shoulder at Pidge and Shiro. “Keith’s awake.”

Shiro came over first and slung Keith’s arm around his shoulder. “Hey, how you feeling?”

“Been better and recently worse.” Keith looked forward watching Hunk handle Lance. The smaller god shifted his shoulders, cringing as his wings pulled themselves back inside. He remembered with sober clarity he had them out all the time while in heaven. Pulling them in was uncomfortable and over time pressure built up until they forced their own way out.

“Yeah, well it’s about to get worse before it gets better.” Shiro lifted Keith on to the tail gate of his F150 as if the great vermillion bird was nothing more than a child. “Everything… where it should be?”

Keith stared back into Shiro’s black eyes. “And then some. I have another job to do.” 

“Ah-ha. Not right now you don’t. Rest up a bit more. Then worry about him. He’ll be fine for now.”

“That’s not fine.” Keith retorted. 

“If you hurt yourself any more than you already have, it won’t be.” 

“He’s out cold anyway.” Hunk set Lance down and pushed his tail into the bed of the truck as he hissed and pulled his hand back, a little ice forming on his palm. “Kind of literally.” He shook his head and looked at Keith. “You should rest too. He won’t be waking up for a while anyway. And he’ll probably be upset with you if you push it after he healed you.”

Pidge walked up to them and rested her hand on Keith’s arm. “If he gets any more upset than he is, you might not be able to fix it, and I know you don’t want to risk that.”

“I don’t want that.” Keith whispered like a scolded child before he got up and moved to curl into Lance’s still form, his head against his hip. “I’ve done enough to him.”

“It wasn’t you, and he doesn’t blame you.” Hunk ruffled Keith’s hair a little. “Pidge, why don’t you ride with them? I’m going to take the car and go to the store so there’s some food in there when this idiot wakes up.”

Pidge nodded slowly and glanced at Shiro’s arm. “Let me get something out of the car first…” She moved over there and rummaged through the trunk before coming back with a bag clutched close to her chest. She looked at Shiro again before climbing into the truck.

Shiro arched a bow but nodded head as she scrambled into the bed of the truck. Keith made no move as the tiny goddess laid her head on his back and started to tinker with whatever she had on her lap.

Keith sighed and a wave of heat emanated from his body. He knew how cats were about warm places and tigers weren’t that different from cats. Pidge often found a way to use Keith as her personal sun spot. He turned his head back into Lance’s hip, wondering if his warmth went through the black ice scales.

Hunk chuckled a little. If there was one good thing about this, it was how adorable Keith and Pidge were when they were together like that. He shook his head and clapped his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “I’ll see you guys soon,” he said, glancing back at the others once more before he got into the little car and drove off.

\-----

Keith sighed as he nuzzled into the still form of his lover. In the two days since the fight with Nizha, Lance had yet to open his eyes or so much as twitch his tail. Had it been two days? Maybe just one? Keith couldn’t be sure. He kept the bedroom dark. He’d drawn the shades, unsure how daylight would affect Lance. It was a known purification source, and Keith didn’t want to hurt or scare Lance in the event he woke up. That also meant he hadn’t left the dragon’s side. He ate his meals with him, read books next to him, took phone calls without leaving the room. Everyone knew better than to come by, but the silence was taking a toll on even his reclusive tendencies.

“Lance,” Keith whispered as he nuzzled into the lump of blankets. “Seiryuu, I miss you. Please wake up.”

“Nnn.” There was a slight groan. His whole body felt heavy. It was like every part of him was being weighed down with lead. His eyes slowly opened, the red pupils practically glowing in the darkened room. “Heavy…” He murmured, trying to move a little beneath the blankets, but his body wouldn’t respond to him. 

Keith sat up on his side, blinking. All this time, he never thought asking would work. “I-l’m sorry. I was just..” Keith lowered his head. 

Lance slowly turned his head towards the sound as though the slight movement took all of his strength, and he blinked a few times to clear his vision. “Not you…me.” His voice was strained, and he tried to move again. “I can’t move my body…”

“Oh?” Keith thought a minute . “Corruption works differently on different people.” He sighed. “Purification is also different for different people depending on how deep and what kind of corruption it is. This is different than what happens to me.” He reached out to touch one of Lance’s scales. 

“My transformation isn’t because of corruption.” Keith couldn’t be corrupted. Purity in thought and action is the basis for most of his powers. Keith always did what he believed to be right.

“That’s…not it.” Lance shook his head. “I healed you. You were…” He stopped to cough a bit before he sighed. “Pretty much dead. My body couldn’t handle that.”

“That too.” Keith shrunk in a little more. “I’m okay now. I’m sorry I forgot again and hurt you.” His fingers continued to more over his scales. “And caused this.”

Lance watched him for a moment before he shook his head. “It’s not your fault. I ate both of them…they did this to me. Not you.” 

Keith sighed and leaned his head against Lance’s shoulder. “You deserve better than all of this.”

“Don’t say something like that. It sounds like you’d leave me. You can’t. I can’t survive that.” Lance sighed and closed his eyes. “I could barely survive seeing you forget me…”

Keith shook his head. “It won’t happen anymore, and I won’t leave you. I can’t leave you. It hurts too much. The world outside of you…” Keith cut himself off before he curled in tighter. “I love you.”

Lance tried to move a little, shifting himself closer to Keith’s warmth. “I don’t deserve you. I’ve failed you so many times.”

Keith just shook his head no. “How could you have known? We’re not those kinds of gods. But I know you now. I know you. I remember you.”

“But you were so close…” Lance sighed and opened his eyes again, and for a moment, those black and red orbs looked like they could have been sad, but the darkness wouldn’t let his emotions show. “You do?”

“I do. I remember you. Seiryuu. I know you.” Keith took one of Lance’s hands and held it to his cheek, the blue of his eyes reflecting his lover back to him.

“And it’s not hurting you?” Lance’s fingers moved against Keith’s cheeks. “You’re not bleeding…You can touch me and see my scales…”

Keith nodded his head. “Yes. I know you. Everything.”

“I’m glad it worked.” Lance closed his eyes and sighed softly, but he didn’t try to move his body or his hand away from Keith. The stabbing pains in his chest subsided, and even the dull throb was barely noticeable.

Small tears rolled down Keith’s cheeks, unchecked. They spilled on to Lance’s hand. Each drop the temperature of water heated by a midday summer sun.

“Why are you crying?” Lance’s fingers twitched when the tears hit his chilled flesh, which negated any warmth they had. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. Because I have you.” Keith pressed his forehead against Lance’s as his tears dripped onto his cheeks. “For the first time in ages, my head feels clear. My memories feel real and not lost in some sort of fog, and you’re still here.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Lance whispered, “but I’m a mess, and I didn’t take good care of myself, and you should be angry with me, not crying.” His eyes closed when those tears hit his cheeks. 

“Fuck that.” Keith sniffed. “You know I couldn’t be angry at you. This wasn’t your fault. None of it was. What they did to you.” Keith shook his head. 

“You’re so good Lance. That’s why it hurts you so much.” Keith’s soft lips ghosted over Seiryuu’s eyelids. They felt like petals of a cherry blossom. Delicate pink lips, accompanied by the sweet scent of a summer night.

Something tingled in his eyelids when Keith kissed them. It was like prickly feeling that happened when a foot fell asleep, but it was also warm and pleasant. And for a moment, it startled Lance. He opened his eyes, and he blinked. There was color again. It was muted like it was covered by a gray screen, but he could see more than just gray. “What…did you do…?”

Keith smiled down at Lance. His hair shimmered into shades of moon light while the purest blue remained in his eyes. “Whatever I can.” He whispered and let his lips press against the center of his forehead. The character willow burning against the god’s chest. 

“Water is easily corrupted. It can take only a drop to spoil a well. However, with care, it can be made purer than it was before.” Another saintly kiss came down to one eyelid then the other before dusting Seiryuu’s ear.

Lance had to close his eyes with those kisses, but when he opened them once more, the black irises had lightened to navy, and the red in his pupils had faded away. The colors were a bit clearer, and his brows furrowed as he tried to process it all. “Keith, please don’t push yourself for my sake. If you drain yourself and get sick…I…”

“Idiot Lizard.” Keith whispered, kissing along his ear. “You healed me completely. If I can’t do at least this much for you? What kind of a god am I?”

“I had to! You would have died!” Lance whimpered and shifted a little as pain shot through his body. “I couldn’t let you leave me.”

Keith sat up, his body still over him as Lance’s borrowed sweatshirt dropped to one side of his shoulder. “And here I am. By your side.”

Lance had regained enough energy to lift his hand on his own, his fingertips brushing over Keith’s cheek. “Yes, I know, but you almost left me for good. Stupid bird.” For a moment, it looked like tears formed in his eyes, but when he blinked they were gone. “It might have been better for me to break before that happened. If I had seen it as…my other self, I don’t think I could have kept my promise to you, and we would probably both be dead.”

Keith turned his head to catch Lance’s fingers at his lips. “We would be. But for once something worked in our favor.” It hurt to say the words knowing what they lost, but he held that emotion down. There would be time still to mourn the dear friend who forced himself to become a villain.

“Please don’t blame yourself. You can blame me. You can cuss me out or whatever you need to do. It’s impossible for me to feel remorse right now, so use me if it will ease your pain.” Lance touched Keith’s lips a little more. 

“Why would I do that?” Keith trailed his kisses from Lance’s fingers down to his palm. “You’re still running a fever, it’s useless to cuss out a sick person. Or is it the fever making you talk like that?”

“Because I won’t feel bad if you do. If it’ll make you feel better, then I’m okay with it.” Lance watched him and blinked a little. “I can’t feel much, actually, but I am relieved you’re okay, and I feel something good, I think, that you remember me again.”

Keith’s eyes fluttered up to meet Lance’s. “So, like this, you’re unable to feel anything else for me?” 

“I know I love you, but like this it feels like…desire, lust, a need to own you.” His fingers slid to touch his jaw. “like I will kill anyone who even looks at you.” He already ate the one that dared to kiss his treasure, after all.

Not prepared for that answer, Keith’s cheeks flared pink, which stood out like a beacon against his ivory skin and moonlight hair. “Lance?”

“Hm?” Lance’s fingers moved down along Keith’s neck. “What is it?” No one else was allowed to touch him.

“I wasn’t expecting that answer.” Keith said. “Is that what’s going through your head right now? Lust? Even if you’re sick?” He tilted his head showing the two day old bite.

“I could fuck the fever out.” Lance slid a finger over the bite mark, his lips twitching into a smirk. “You need to remember you’re mine. You forgot.” 

“Ng.” Keith couldn’t stop the shudder that rose up from his body when those ice cold fingers caressed the burning dragon mark Lance left him. “I re-remembered when you healed me… what else did I forget?”

“You remember now, but that doesn’t change the fact that you forgot.” Lance grinned. “You forgot how much you enjoy it when I fuck you. You forgot how many times I’ve made you cum. You forgot how it felt to beg me for more.”

“Th-those memories are there.” Keith managed to get out even as the blush moved down his neck and to his ears. “Do—do you think you can make it the shower. We can get that blood off you.” 

Lance’s eyes darkened, but not in that colorless way from earlier. “I think so.” He managed to pull himself to sit upright, his tail coiling around him. There was no way he could shower with it out, though, so he focused until it disappeared, panting a bit when it was done. “I may need help getting in there.”

“Huh?” Keith watched Lance’s tail, teasing him like a pendulum before it vanished, making the fallen god blink a few times. “Ye.. yeah. Shower. I can help you. It’d be good.” He got off the bed and took Lance’s arm around his shoulder to walk him into the bathroom. “How do you want it?” 

“Hot.” Lance leaned against Keith and turned his head to whisper in his ear. “How about you? Hard and fast?” He licked the shell of Keith’s ear and smirked. “I might be able to muster enough energy for that.”

Keith groaned, his tongue wetting his lips as he turned the shower on without thinking. The cold spray made him yelp and press back into Lance. Keith knew then, he was caught. “Ye..yeah. I like that.”

“Clothes.” Lance murmured and licked his ear again. “Too many.”

Keith squirmed, the water weighing Lance’s sweatshirt down and pulling the oversized collar past his shoulders. “I’ll get them off,” he whispered as he stepped forward, lifting the shirt up and letting it fall with a ‘sluurop’ to the tile floor. His jeans, already tight to begin with, hugged his body leaving no question about his state of arousal.

“Good.” Lance leaned in a little and tried to kiss him. “I saw no one else was here…will they be back?” One of his hands rested on the shower wall, the other pressed against Keith’s bulge.

Keith gasped and shook his head as if that was enough of an answer. His waterlogged hair laid like liquid silver over his face, hiding his eyes and cheeks. Only a quivering pouting lips visible after he swallowed back a whimper.

Lance shuddered a little at Keith’s pouty expression and kissed him. The kiss may have lacked the intense love Lance felt somewhere deep inside, but it certainly didn’t lack passion. He rubbed his hand over Keith’s pants a little more and smirked when the kiss was over. “Still too many clothes.”

“I…” Keith breathed against Lance’s lips gasping as the man continued to press his hand into him. He managed to open the top few buttons on his jeans. He stepped away from his lover to pull them down, but the water forced him to shimmy and tug then bent himself all the way down to kick the pants off. 

Lance licked his lips as he watched Keith, the hand that was once on his pants now slid over his back, a finger brushing over one of those wing-lines. “Mmm. You’re so sexy,” he half-growled, pulling his hand back to pull off the tatters of his own shirt. 

“Ah! Not there!!” Keith cried out then bit down on his lip. A tiny trickle of blood beaded to the surface. “Nng..” he arched his back, whimpering in desperation. “They want to c-come out… but I can’t in here.” 

Lance looked down at him and blinked. “Does it hurt?” He tossed his own shirt aside and fumbled with the button of his own pants, which was difficult to do when he was leaning against the shower wall to keep himself upright. “Keith…” His eyes narrowed a bit when he could finally smell that blood. 

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Keith laid his hands on Lance’s shoulders to steady him. “It’s like something wanting to release from your body and you know it will feel good, but you have to hold back.”

“And you want to release it…” Lance looked at him, then leaned in a little. “I’m sorry my home isn’t big enough for your wings.” He kissed him, lowering his voice to a whisper. “When all of this is done, I will buy you a big cabin somewhere secluded, so you can let them out to your heart’s content.”

“Well the shower isn’t, anyway.” Keith blushed, his tongue flicking over the cut as he slipped his arm around Lance’s shoulder.

“No, but I will get you one that is.” Lance kissed him, tasting the blood on his lips and groaning a little. “I will give you anything you want.”

Keith chuckled and gave a wicked smile. “This too?” He dragged a finger up the underside of Lance’s straining need, the smile turning a bit smug while his eyes glinted.

“Especially that.” Lance shivered a little and kissed him again. “Until you can’t walk, if that’s what you want.”

“You’d just heal me and start all over.”

“I don’t know. I do kind of like the idea of fucking you so thoroughly you can’t do anything for the rest of the day.” Lance smirked and kissed him.

“You’ve always had a thing for leaving me naked and helpless.” Keith kissed him back, titling his head as he moved his fingers down his neck, lingering over his scales.

Lance moaned slightly, feeling that warm touch on his icy scales was almost too much for him, but he managed to control himself long enough to push Keith back against the wall of the shower. “Only if you’re with me the whole time.” He kissed him, then moved his lips to his jaw and nuzzled. “I would never leave you that way for anyone else to see. You’re mine.”

“No one else can see me thoroughly ravaged by you?” Keith moaned, his heart fluttering against the aggressive press of his lover. “So no threesomes anytime soon?” He teased as he lowered his head and traced his tongue over scale.

“Never.” Lance moaned again as the scales touched by Keith’s tongue lightened from the deep black of the deepest waters to the murky gray of a fog-covered lake. He pressed himself against Keith more and growled slightly. “No one is allowed to touch you. Anyone who tries is going to be my next meal.” 

“I’m always yours.” Keith smiled against the scales and continued to lick and taste each one. Entertaining the idea in all his years of being with Lance, he’d never seen the dragon so much as throw a punch. Seiryuu preferred distance attacks and never wanted his pretty face to be in harm’s way.

“Mine.” Lance moaned as Keith continued his attentions to his scales on his neck. “Don’t forget it again.” He pressed his body against Keith more, rubbing against him.

“How do you doubt that?” Keith let out whimper and his hands pushed up the back of Lance’s head, his nails digging through the soft hair. “Hmm?” Keith blinked when he felt the smooth bone like obtrusions of Lance’s horns. His fingers boldly quested along the base before slipping up their sides. Both his hands moving along the black ice surface as if he would grip them at any moment.

“Ah…” Lance’s horns grew at Keith’s touches, his heat twitching against his lover’s thigh. “I am full of doubt. Appease me.” He took his lips in a hot kiss.

“I’m still soft from the other night.” Keith looked around the shower and grabbed a bit of body oil, stopping his play with Lance’s horns in order to drip the lubricant over Lance’s sex, then watched his face as massaged it in. “You can probably push right in, if you want.” 

“Nnn I want…” Lance moaned and looked at Keith, panting a bit. “Nnnn.”

“Then have.” Keith lifted one slender, agile leg up against Lance’s shoulder. One didn’t fight and move the way he did without an almost obscene level of flexibility. It made sex in cramped spaces a lot easier. And that made Lance happy.

“Fuck…” Lance moaned and pushed up into him once the positioning was right. He kept one hand on the wall of the shower, the other resting on Keith’s waist as he slowly started to move.

“Nneetg! Does being…being like this make everything bigger? Ah!” Keith gripped Lance’s shoulder.

“Does it feel bigger?” Lance grinned as he began to move his hips a little faster. 

“It feels amazing!” Keith pressed his face against his lover’s neck, a whimper building into a cry. 

“Good.” Lance moaned into Keith’s hair as his hips loved, a little faster, a little harder. He grunted, still leaning his shoulder against the wall to keep himself upright. 

“If you keep moving like that I won’t be able to, I can’t hold on!” Keith clutched onto Lance his eyes closing tightly.

“Isn’t that the point?” Lance kept moving his hips. “Ah…Keith!”

“I-I’m I! Lance!!” Keith clawed his fingers into Lance’s shoulder and his hips jerked violently as he cried out his lover’s name.

Lance’s hips bucked a bit as Keith’s body tightened around him. He moaned into his hair as he climaxed.

Keith leaned against him panting as he let his leg drop back down. “Nn…” he kept kissing any place his lips could reach.

Lance slowly pulled out of him and moaned a little as he did so. He leaned in and kissed Keith, smiling a bit against his lips. “How do you feel?”

“Like I can still walk.” Keith nuzzled his lips into Lance’s neck. 

“Oh, well that’s no good.” Lance chuckled a little and rubbed a bit before pushing in once more and smirking. “We should remedy that.”

“LANCE!” Keith hadn’t been expecting to be entered against and least of all in this position. He fell back against the door and his wings exploded from is back in shimmering waves of white and silver feathers. Clear crystals and diamonds glittering in the pale light dancing rainbows over the room. They crushed up against the wall making the toilet flush and busted the already cracked mirror from most of the wall-mounts. Keith let out a squeak as the flushing water drastically and suddenly changed the temperature of the water causing him to scramble and tighten around Lance.

Lance wasn’t exactly expecting chaos in the bathroom, but there it was. He smirked and wrapped his arm around Keith, pulling him closer as he moved his hips and kept thrusting into him. Sex energized him in a way it probably shouldn’t have, and he assumed it was because of his corruption. He certainly wouldn’t complain if it meant he could make Keith cry out like that. “You’re making a mess,” he managed between thrusts, his fingers gripping Keith’s backside as he kept moving. 

“You caught me off guard!! Idiot lizard!” Keith yelled and clung to Lance as he moved. Any semblance of control Keith had long gone. 

“Oh? So I should stop?” Lance slowed his hips and started to pull out of him. Normally he wouldn’t be so amused by the idea of teasing Keith, but he was enjoying this.

“No!” Like a pouting child Keith clung to Lance. His arms tightening around him and his legs wrapping around his waist. 

“No?” Lance kept the movement of his hips slow, since he had to lean his shoulder against the wall of the shower now that Keith’s legs were around his waist and not supporting his weight. “Nnn…Fuck.”

“No!” Keith tried to move his body faster but his wings made it a struggle. “Lance…” he whimpered in a honey-soaked voice.

Once Lance properly braced himself, he moved his hips faster again. “Nnn… Yes, Keith?” He kissed his jaw. 

“I’m going crazy…” Keith tilted his head back and his hands found their way through Lance’s hair and back around his horns. “Nmg!” He gripped them as Lance pushed deeper.

Lance’s hips started to thrust erratically when Keith touched his horns. “Good crazy?” He growled the words out, his eyes as black as the horns on his head. 

“Good! Good! Aaah! Lance! Harder! Please!”

“I’m trying.” Lance grunted, but could only move so much with the way he had to brace himself on the wall. 

“We-Ah!!” Keith arched and his wings spread, knocking over the towel rack and a caddy before bumping the faucet, turning it on. “W. Wait.. the bedroom? I I can’t here… ah!” A wing flew out smacking the mirror. It cracked further and dangled the wall.

“Ah…s…so you do want me to stop?” Lance whimpered and tried to slow his hips once again. “But…but you wanted it harder.”

“Ah!!” Keith cried out louder, his head arching back as his body bowed into Lance, his wings arching once more and pushed the mirror off the last of its mounts. It crashed to the floor.

Another whimper and Lance managed to slow his hips enough to stop, pulling out of him and panting as he leaned against the wall, still holding Keith in his arms. 

Keith whimpered and clung to him, his legs wobbling as Lance set him back on the ground. “I’m sorry.” There was a small sniff in his voice. His body ached. He’d been taken from the brink because of the stupid endowments given to him by his godhood. He nearly destroyed the bathroom and broke a wing.

“Can we make it to the bedroom? I-I can keep them open in there.” Keith blushed, turning his eyes up at Lance. “And I won’t destroy your house during sex. I promise.”

“I don’t care if you destroy our house.” Lance’s whole body seemed to be trembling as he kept himself against the shower wall. Keith pulled his weight away from him, but that only seemed to mess up the balance he had found while they were doing it. His chest heaved as he struggled to calm his breathing, and when he looked at Keith again, his brows furrowed. “I…can’t move just yet. You go…I’ll follow eventually…”

Keith’s brows furrowed up. “It’s hurting you?” He stepped toward him again. “I can ease it, if you want? You’re still recovering. I shouldn’t push you so hard.” Keith nuzzled Lance’s jaw. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not hurting me.” Lance shook his head slightly, careful of Keith’s face. “I just went from completely on to completely stopped, and I can’t walk properly right now.”

“I’ll stay here until you can.” Keith touched his cheek, his wings shifting behind him, and for a moment everything took on a silver glow as the water evaporated from his body. In extension the luminescence enveloped Lance. It encased the Dragon King in warmth as he took the water from his skin and dried his hair. “I guess it can work that way.” Keith smiled trying to joke. “I’ll make it up to you…”

“You’re too worried about breaking the bathroom.” Lance shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I just need a few minutes.” He finally caught his breath, and as the calm settled in, he started to lean up off the wall a bit.

Keith watched him for a moment before he nodded. “Do you want to lean on me?”

“No.” Lance shook his head and slowly pushed himself upright, though his legs wobbled slightly. “I said I’ll be fine.” He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but he also didn’t really care that he did, Keith wasn’t listening to him, and while he knew he was doing it with good intentions, it was a little annoying.

Keith flinched and bowed his head, the soft white hair falling over his face as he nodded. “Okay.” He stepped in front of him and walked to their bedroom, worrying his lower lip, wincing at the cut he’d placed there before. He’d messed up, he knew it. It wasn’t a big deal though. He knew that too. 

Keith had every reason to pull the plug on that second round. It wasn’t just the bathroom he was worried about tearing up. Keith’s wings were as fragile as the rest of him. Dragging his arm through broken glass was stupid, then so was dragging his wing through a broken mirror. Keith closed his eyes and in a second the room dimmed and lit up with a soft candle glow. Tongues of heatless flame danced about the room in hues of orange and red. 

Keith laid upon the bed, the pure white of his hair and wings now reflecting the ambiance like molten gold. He splayed himself across Lance’s bed, glinting like a precious gem in the center of a dragon’s hoard. 

Lance let out a sigh when Keith left the bathroom and he looked around, shaking his head as he carefully picked up the broken mirror and pushed the glass aside to clean up later. He slowly walked to the doorway and paused. He could see those flickering lights through the doorway to the bedroom. He watched the way the red and orange lights danced for a minute before he stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

“You feel really bad about it, don’t you?” He looked his lover over and arched a brow. He certainly appreciated the view, and his arousal started to make itself known again, but he stayed by the door and watched Keith instead of walking towards him. At the very least, he would make him squirm a bit before they reconciled.

Keith nodded, sitting up enough but not able to meet Lance’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling bad about. Was it wrong for him to not want to be hurt? He did send mixed messages, but the bird panicked. Memories of broken glass and pain still too fresh in his mind with broken wings and shredded flesh. “I’m sorry I stopped after getting you that heated.” 

“I don’t care about that. It’s not the first time it happened.” Lance watched him and took a few steps towards the bed. “But I’m also not stupid. You didn’t actually care about breaking the bathroom did you? You were worried about your wings.” He slid onto the bed and leaned over him. “Do you think that I’m completely heartless because I’m like this, and that I wouldn’t understand if you just told me?”

“I…” Keith looked up at Lance and swallowed, his heart speeding. “I was making it dangerous in there. These wings,” he spread them out over the bed. The feathers shimmered and appeared more delicate as if they could be torn as easily as a tissue. “they’re not strong.”

“No, they’re not.” Lance smirked and slid a finger over one of them, touching the feather gently. “But they’re mine. Just like you’re mine. And I don’t want them hurt just like you don’t want them hurt.” He leaned down and kissed him, licking at that cut on his lip. “So next time just tell me you wanted to keep a piece of you safe. Don’t let me think the bathroom is more important than me.”

Keith’s head turned to the side and he whimpered into his hand at the touch to his wing. The lick to his lip guided his head back to look up at Lance. “I wanted to keep them safe.” Keith panted out, his eyes darker now than they’d been in the shower and they shifted from Lance’s face to the fingers that toyed with delicate structure of his feathers.

“They’re safe,” Lance whispered as he licked at Keith’s lips again. He trailed his fingers along those feathers until he reached the bone of his wing, smirking as he slid his fingers along that sensitive part. “But will they stay safe with you laying like that?”

Keith bit back a cry, as the wing Lance touched spread itself wider exposing all the tender secrets to the dark creature over him. “Safe? Wh.. what will you do to them?”

“I won’t hurt them if that’s what you think. You know me better than that. Even like this, you are the only safe one.” Lance grinned and nipped at Keith’s lower lip. “Well, beyond the kind of sexual hurt that seems to make you get a bit harder, moan a bit louder, and cum a bit faster.” He smirked and slid his hand down that bone.

“Ah!” Keith’s hands covered his face, his white hair slipping through his fingers. Willow burned brighter on his chest. He felt embarrassed to have so much sensitivity in one easily manipulated place. Keith had no control over how his wings moved when Lance touched them. They did it involuntarily and completely at the other man’s mercy. And Lance knew it.

“Would you like that, Keith?” Lance grinned as he leaned down and kissed those hands that covered the embarrassed bird’s face. “You liked it when you were in season. Maybe you’ll like it just as much now?” He slid his hand back up the bone of his wing before he pulled his fingers back, smirking as he slid that hand down his chest instead. 

“Lance,” Keith turned his head up to catch Lance’s cheeks. His eyes were dark navy voids, glinting on the verge of twilight as he moved his thumb under his lover’s lip. He’d never seen this side of him before. He knew what it was. Corruption brought out the hidden parts of gods, rid them of inhibition. Some gods went on bloody rampages, others mutilated themselves. Lance’s corruption led to this. Self-indulgence. His corruption was steeped in unyielding love and desire for one person. 

Even while his body reacted to each of Lance’s touches, Keith’s eyes were fixed on Lance. Lazy moans dripped from his lips, his legs opening in invitation, yet his eyes never wavered. Eyes filled loyalty, devotion, and unending love stayed locked. Everything else paled. Keith’s love for Lance couldn’t be compared to store bought hallmark card type of love. Those were a dime a dozen and could be found anywhere. His kind of love, forged in heartache, shaped by suffering a million blows, edge sharp and crafted from the purest iron, and able to cut through anything that dared to get between them, even if it meant sacrificing a part of him, is what stared back up at Lance. It glinted like steel in those eyes. It was the kind of love only worthy of god above him. “All yours.” 

“I know you’re mine.” Lance shuddered a little at the loving look Keith gave him. It was like an arrow of the purest light piercing his heart in an attempt to push the darkness away. It didn’t really work, of course. Lance’s darkness had taken too strong of a hold. “You’ve always been mine. You’ll always be mine.” He murmured as he pressed himself against Keith and moved his hips just enough to rub them together. “No one will ever make you feel what I make you feel.” He slid his hand down his chest and over his stomach, his fingers circling his navel before they slid lower and stopped just above Keith’s sex.

“Tell me what you want, Keith. Do you want me to be gentle? Do you want me to give you that little spike? How do you want me to please you?”

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck, pulling himself up so his lips were by his ear. “It’d hurt you too much to be gentle with me right now. Have me how your heart is begging you to do it.” He licked that ear. “I’ll enjoy it because it’s you and only you can make me feel anything.”

“The only thing that hurts me is hurting you, idiot bird.” Lance moaned at the lick to his ear. “But I want to hear you say what you want me to do.” He rubbed against Keith a bit more and looked down at him with his black eyes. “I want to give you what you want. Let me hear it.”

“That’s what you want?” Keith lowered his hand as he sunk back down to the bed. He groaned when he found Lance’s heat and he dropped his other hand down to hold himself open, lining the Dragon up. “I want you to fuck me how my dragon would fuck me.” He pushed himself down on Lance his chest arching from the bed, white wings fanning out to both sides him.

Lance wasn’t sure what he was expecting from his pure angel, but it certainly wasn’t this. He moaned when Keith’s heat surrounded him, and his fingers slid over Keith’s heat, his other hand gripping his hips. “Nnn…Fuck.” He began to move his hips. “How…do you think your dragon would fuck you? Slow?” He set an almost agonizingly slow pace, his lips curving up into a grin as he watched Keith’s body arch below him. His fingers moved from Keith’s sex to grip his other hip. “Fast?” And he sped his hips up accordingly. “Gentle?” His hips slowed again, the movements full of the love he felt for Keith somewhere deep in his blackened heart. “Or hard?” And he sped up once more, this time slamming himself into his lover, growling a bit in pleasure.

Keith cried out, his legs and hips twisting against Lance unsure if they wanted to open more and close against him. When Lance slowed his pace in a subtle mockery of love, pain tore inside him. Tears sprang to his eyes dropping with the sudden hard thrusts. He could handle any type of physical torment Lance wanted to get out against his body, hell he welcomed it. He couldn’t handle the mental anguish of such a fake sentiment when he was already laid bare and vulnerable. “Hard and Fast.” He cried out biting his cheek to stop more tears from coming to his eyes. 

Each drop of water from Keith’s eyes was like a little needle poking through the black shroud around him. Each little pinhole of light seared his flesh and sent a jolt of pain into his chest. His hips slowed to a stop, and he pulled himself out of Keith, his brows knitted as he looked down at him. “I hurt you, didn’t I? Not the good kind of hurt either…” He lifted both of his hands to cup Keith’s cheeks, his thumbs brushing away his tears. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you. Even if I’m like this, I don’t want you to cry because of me.”

Keith whimpered when Lance pulled out and forced Keith’s head up to face him “Do you love me? When you’re like this? Or do you hate me for doing this to you?” The white haired god’s voice was soft, delicate, waiting for the answer that would make him crumble like a pillar of salt.

“Idiot. I love you. I love you more than I can fully express. Why would I hate you? What do you think you did to me that would ever make me hate you?” He shook his head and leaned down, kissing his forehead in an oddly gentle move considering how he had been moments earlier. 

“Before, when you… it felt…” Keith looked up at him when he kissed his forehead, his eyes crossing slightly then following him. “I’d rather you didn’t force yourself to make love to me. I even if you’re teasing me. I’ve never had a good sense of humor for that stuff. If you don’t mean it…” He rubbed his eyes with his wrist feeling like an actual idiot. 

“Is that what you thought? I didn’t intend for it to feel like that.” Lance shook his head and looked down at him. “I just wanted you to know that I would be with you however you most wanted. I want to be with you. I want to make you feel pleasure. I want to remind you why you should stay with me and never leave.” He leaned down and nudged Keith’s hands away from his face so he could kiss him. “I want to possess you in every sense of the word. I didn’t even think that would hurt you. So if you still want me, I will give it to you hard and fast, so there’s no way you can question if I’m faking it or not.” 

Keith sniffed one more time willing his tears to dry up. “This is so weird!” He cried out in frustration. Lance was the emotional one. Not him! He closed his eyes and took a moment to collect himself before he opened them with a decisive sigh. “I want it like that, because that’s really how you want to do it, and how you need to give it right now. I’ve said it before I’m not the most ideal mate for a dragon. I’ve been saying it since day one.” Keith blinked a few more stray tears away. 

“Fuck me how you need to fuck me. That’s what I want. Show me that I’m perfect for you. Let me show you that I’m perfect for you. Just don’t ever tease about that. How easy it is for you to flip the switch. I’ll work as hard as I need to. I might not be ideal, but I want to be perfect for you.”

“I don’t give a shit if you’re the ideal mate for a dragon. You’re my ideal. You’re the reason I wake up in the morning. You’re the reason I’m still alive. I’m like this…” He took one of Keith’s hands and held it over his own chest, the pale hand contrasting more than usual with the black scales. “Because I couldn’t handle not being able to protect you. I couldn’t handle seeing you forget me. I couldn’t deal with the jealousy of you remembering and caring about everyone else but me. I couldn’t handle you being so close to me and having you ripped away from me without even having the chance to find you. They did that to you because they knew it would make me this terrible thing that’s impossible to love. They knew one speck of darkness would spread out of control and poison all of me.” He shook his head a little. “But you defied the odds they stacked against you, and you did something you never wanted to do, and because of that, you’re saving me, little by little. If that says nothing else, it should show just how perfect you are.” Lance leaned down and kissed him. “Besides, you’re the one who likes it when I bite you. You’re the one who gets turned on by the thought of me taking you and making you mine.”

“Lance, I…” Keith swallowed as Lance spoke, new tears threatening to fall but never getting to form beyond a gentle sting, but the last part made his eyebrow quirk. “I get turned on because you like it so much! You’re going to tell me that your bite does nothing for you?”

“It does everything for me because it’s your taste.” Lance grinned and slowly let go of the hand he was holding to his chest. “You get turned on even when I don’t actually pierce your skin. All I have to do is touch there.” And as If to prove a point, he slid a finger over that scar.

Keith whimpered and squirmed before asking, “Doesn’t that tell you something?” 

“It tells me a lot of things.” Lance touched that spot again.

“Ah…” Keith lifted his hips and moved his legs trying to guide Lance back to him. “Then you know.”

“I know.” Lance leaned in to kiss him, sliding back into place and smirking a little. His tail slid up Keith’s leg, the finned tip brushing against his thigh before he pushed himself back into him.

“Eeng…” Keith gasped, his knees closing a little harder than he intended against Lance’s side. That damn tail! If Keith had to admit to a fetish which drove him crazy it was always Lance’s tail. The touch of it, or the feel of it against his skin it drove needles of pleasure up and down his spine. 

Lance grinned when Keith reacted to his tail the way he always did, and so as he set a steady pace, trying to get his lover used to their movements, he slid the tip of his tail up over his hip and up his side.

“Lance!” Keith tossed his head back panting harder and moving more on him. His hands kneaded the bed. They needed to grip whatever they until he found the scaly tail. Cold to the touch, it would hurt had Keith been human. Right now, it felt good and he slid his hand down the scales and back up, moaning louder from slackened lips.

“Nnn. You like it.” Lance’s hips sped up when Keith touched his tail like that, and he moaned. “Fuck.” He kissed Keith, watching his face through half-closed eyes. 

Keith twisted his fingers through the tail when he found the tip and brought it to his lips. “You are.” He trailed his tongue over the finned end, letting the feather like softness stroke over his cheek. Tasting Lance’s tail was like having an ice cube slowly melt in his tongue.

“You…” Lance grunted and his hips moved faster and harder. “Keith… Nn…” He gripped his hips and looked down at him, slowly pulling the tip of his tail away from Keith’s mouth before running it along the bone of a wing.

Keith’s eyes shot wide open. His body thrown back against the bed has his arms spread out above him. His chest pushed up, forcing his head all the way back as he screamed out Lance’s name, hips jerking with each emptying climatic thrust.

Lance always wondered what would happen if he touched Keith’s wing with his tail, but he never had the courage to do it until now, when his inhibitions were low. Well, now he had his answer, and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning as Keith orgasmed with the loudest scream he had heard come from that normally snarky mouth. As Keith’s body arched and he tightened around him, Lance also came, grunting as his hips emptied the last of his pleasure into his lover. 

Keith froze in the arch, trembling and still feeling the delicious cold spread through his wings with a direct line to the core of his pleasure. His hips jerked with one more spasm before he fell limp to the bed panting with his eyes half open but unseeing. 

Lance slowly pulled out of Keith and looked down at him, panting a little, his eyes locking onto that dazed face blow him as he pulled his tail back. “Did I break you?” 

“Mmn…” Keith murmured, his hips moving languidly as his legs shifted. Every move showing he was spent but he continued to the sybaritic rolls of his hips and indulgently touched to his own stomach and chest. The white of his hair faded back into Keith’s natural ebony as even his wings rippled and shimmered to regain their original ruby and gold hues. 

“I guess so.” Lance grinned and leaned in to kiss him. “And can you walk? Or have I succeeded in that, too?”

Keith returned the kiss with slow and deliberate sucking at Lance’s lip then his tongue before letting him go with a tiny trill of satisfaction. “Who needs to walk?”

“Well, you certainly don’t. Not now, anyway.” Lance chuckled and returned the kiss. 

Licking Lance’s taste from his lips Keith focused his eyes up at him. “Lay with me, like you used to.”

Lance nodded and shifted so that he was holding Keith much more comfortably than he would have been if he stayed completely on top of him. His tail looped around his lover’s waist and curled around one of his legs. 

Keith purred and moved his wings around Lance, laying his head on his arm as he spooned his body up to him. 

“Better?” Lance whispered as he nuzzled his lips into Keith’s ebony hair. “This comfortable?”

“Perfect.” Keith lifted his eyes up. “You?”

“Also perfect.” Lance finally cracked the tiniest of smiles. 

“Mmm that’s good.” Keith kissed the arm he laid upon, until a steady peaceful breathing took the place of the nuzzling lips.


	13. What Death May Take?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
>  
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Keith laid in bed, his eyes closed, but he’d been up for the better part of the morning. No one had come by the RV today. Well, no one had come by the last four days. No text messages, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter posts perking any interest. No Pidge. No Hunk. No Shiro. Some part of the god wondered if he should be concerned because there was such a thing as too quiet, but most him wanted to take advantage of the reprieve.

He nuzzled his face into the pillow, smiling as the body laying over him did the same to the small of his back. Lance took a liking to laying on Keith. He didn’t mind it, of course. It made moving hard though. Not because Keith couldn’t push Lance off, but because he didn’t want to disturb him. Keith shifted a wing down to lay over his naked lover. With a brief shimmer of feathers, the room began to heat.

The two of them had barely left this room. Lance’s corruption had been a constant festering wound in Seiryuu’s mind. It wouldn’t allow Keith to have the upper hand. Every time he thought he had the sweet Azure Dragon he knew and loved back in his arms, something would darken again. Drawing out Keith’s light, it tarnished Lance’s scales. They turned from sapphire purity of the open ocean into the dark hematite shades of swirling trench like depths, deep unexplored regions where demon like creatures grew and hunted.

It terrified Keith. Not in a sense where he feared Seiryuu, but he could lose all of what made Lance his. Lance didn’t woo Keith by persistence alone. His attraction had little to do with his advances or sexual capabilities. Lance’s heart had pulled Keith from his monochrome world. His kindness, his joy in just being alive, his bravery in the face of stronger and meaner gods, and how he always stood up for what he believed are what Keith loved most.

Keith sighed, his arms folding under his head. “Patients yields focus.” He whispered, turning his phone off and placing it back on the night stand. Staring at it wasn’t going to give him the answers he needed. With Lance, he is going to have to do his best and hope the dragon still loved him by the end.

When that heat surrounded his body, Lance’s eyes slowly opened, though he nuzzled his face against Keith’s flesh and kissed where his lips rested. “Am I too heavy?” he asked, his voice laced with the lethargy of sleep. He slowly sat up, careful of the wing that covered him like a blanket. “Are you hungry?” He wasn’t sure why that was the first thought that popped into his head. For the past four days, food wasn’t the first thing on his mind whenever he woke. But that was a good sign wasn’t it? Just like the way his scales on his neck and chest shimmered with a dull silver, like the morning fog rolling over a tranquil lake. He wasn’t fixed yet. There was still something that clenched at his heart whenever he started to feel normal again. He knew he was disappointing Keith, too. He saw the way his face lit up when his tail took on the blues and greens he was used to. And so he saw the way that face sank when those colors darkened again. But he was getting better, right? “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t mind. It feels good.” Keith turned over his shoulder. Something about Lance’s weight against him felt safe, despite everything else going on. “I’m a bit hungry, but I’m not in a rush to move.”

Keith shifted his wing to make sitting up easier for Lance, “Are you sorry for being heavy? Or sorry for asking me if I’m hungry?” He asked with a small laugh in his words to ease the tense atmosphere Lance’s apology created. Lance appeared to be getting better. Judging by not feeling something hard and persistent press against him. Keith liked sex. Gods did he like it. No secrets there, but having a morning to be lazy didn’t sound half bad. Perhaps Lance’s insatiable need to prove his claim on his lover had taken the day off.

“Neither of those.” Lance shook his head and looked down at Keith. His hand rested on the spot on his back his head had just been, and his brows furrowed. “I’ll make you breakfast…”

“Lance?” Keith turned himself, wings easily adjusting to his movements as Lance’s hand slid to lay on his stomach. Keith’s pale body, no longer concealed by the bed wings, became a time table of the previous day and night. Kiss marks of varying colors dotted his shoulders, chest, stomach, and more embarrassingly, inner thighs. Shallow bite marks followed similar patterns except for the deep dragon mark at the bend of his neck. The bite fresh and red, appearing as though it could open at any moment.

“And I’ll bandage your neck.” For a moment, Lance looked like he felt incredibly guilty for biting Keith so forcefully, but that moment passed when he shook his head and stood. His darkened tail flopped lazily behind him as he turned to walk to the bathroom. “What do you want to eat?”

Keith eyed the tail, swallowing and blushing a little darker remembering exactly what Lance’s tail was capable of and his amazing control of it. “Umm.” He turned his head away and out the window. “Something light. The fruit Hunk left here should still be good.”

“Only Fruit?” Lance disappeared into the bathroom and pulled the gauze and the antiseptic cream from the first aid kit before he came back out and sat on the bed next to Keith. He turned his head carefully and checked the bite wound before he gently spread the cream and wrapped the gauze. “You don’t want pancakes or anything?” He kept his touches gentle.

Keith allowed Lance to move his chin to the side, his body retrained to understand his lover’s touch and his unspoken words. “Depends. What are your plans for me today?” He held no bitterness or spite in his words. Only understanding. Keith knew, ready to do anything the dark-skinned god wished of him. Malice nor contempt did not exist between them. They fought and locked away those instincts long ago. Keith only wanted to help Lance. To help him in whatever way he would accept it, and he’d happily oblige.

Lance’s lower lip stuck out just a bit. He slowly pulled his hand away from Keith’s neck when he was finished wrapping it, and he shook his head a little. “Right now I just want to make you breakfast, but if you prefer I don’t, I can call Hunk…”

Keith shook his head. “Your cooking is fine. Besides, you’re not ready for them yet. Are you?”

“I don’t particularly have a problem with any of them. I just wanted to be with you since you remembered me.” Lance blinked and watched him. “Am I disappointing you?”

“Oh? Then you can call them when you want to. Or text.” Keith eyed Lance’s cell phone still sitting on the charger. “Disappointing?” Keith blinked at that. “How?” His brows furrowed. “We’re both doing our best. Like how could I be disappointed it that?

Lance looked down a little. “I’m not healing fast enough…” His shoulders slumped slightly. “I’m trying. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I am trying.”

Keith watched Lance for a moment before he stood up, wrapping a sheet around himself. Even in such a state the worn blanket managed to appear as a royal shroud, his wings opened behind him. “Lance…” He paused, obviously thinking about his next few words. “When you say you’re not healing fast enough, who’s standards are you using? This has never happened to you before, so how can you know what’s fast and what’s slow?” Keith touched his fingers to the other’s forehead before pushing them back into his bangs, tenderly letting his talons comb the messy locks.

“Take your time. Find your own way. I’ll just be here to, ya know, to be here. You seem to like having me around. Why? I don’t know. I’ll never know, but I like it so…” He pinched then tugged on the dragon’s ears. “Do what you can. Sometimes if you force things, it will hurt more.”

“You…know why I like having you around.” Lance’s lips trembled as he spoke, and within seconds, water fell from his eyes in small rivers. Why did that bother him so much? It hurt. “You know…” He bowed his head, his whole body shaking as he tried to control himself, but the more he tried to stop the tears, the faster they came. “I’m really scared…”

Keith blinked. He hadn’t intended to upset him, but just as quickly as Lance’s tears came Keith pulled the man to the bed, holding his head against his chest. His fingers continued to stroke through his hair. “I know you are.” He whispered, lips kissing and gently pressing where they could. “I’ll protect you from everything. Even yourself if I have to.”

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith and held onto him as though letting go would end him. He trembled against him and choked on a sob or two before he finally calmed down enough to get his body to stop shaking. “I don’t need you to protect me.” He managed as he tried to catch his breath. “I need to save you. I need to be useful. I need to not hate myself as much as I do right now.”

Keith’s wings came around the two of them, folding at Lance’s shoulders. “Lance. You save me every day. When I wake up and hear your breathing beside me, I feel protected from the nightmares that could follow from my sleep. When I see you smile at me, I know that I won’t lose to anything because I need to return to see your smile again. When you touch me, I know that, above everything else and no matter what happens, I’m loved.” Keith lifted Lance’s head up to him and leaned down to kiss his tears and tasting the purest winter rain upon his cheek. “These only a few of the ways you save me.”

“You were taken from me.” Lance closed his eyes as Keith kissed away his tears. His tail, which had been slowly lightening in hue with Keith’s words went black again, and the tip tapped angrily on the floor. “You were taken from me. And you were hurt. And I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t do anything. Someone else did. Someone else saved you. Someone else…” He clenched his jaw and tried to keep the growling down, though he struggled.

Keith bit back a whimper when he felt a wave of darkness travel through Lance. His power absorbing it as quickly as his lover was creating it. “Someone else?” Keith smiled. “Yours was first voice I heard when I opened my eyes. You were the first face I touched. The first scent I smelled. You, despite how hurt you were, stayed with me.” Keith dragged his finger down the smooth slope of Lance’s nose, then tapped the tip.

“You can get pulled out a fire, but it doesn’t do you any good if someone doesn’t put out the flames.”

“It wasn’t me.” Lance frowned. He knew Keith was just trying to fix it and make him feel better. He wanted to let him, but there was a part of him that was fighting against it. He didn’t want to fight. He couldn’t help fighting. “You remember. I wasn’t the first one you saw. I couldn’t have been. That body was purified before I ate it. So you saw it wasn’t me.” He shook his head and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I did nothing. I wasn’t even the one you wanted when you woke up.”

“I don’t remember purifying anything. I felt the heat of willow inside my body and then I woke up next to you.” Keith blinked at that last part. “Who I wanted when I woke up?” He thought back to the moment consciousness returned to him. He’d been confused and in pain. “I wanted to know who was crying for me.” Keith searched Lance’s eyes. “Even when I didn’t know who you were, my first thoughts were about you. Trying to figure out who you were and knowing you who you weren’t.”

“Let go of the fabrications and listen to the truth I’m telling you.” Keith stroked Lance’s cheek. “Have I ever lied to you?”

“I’m trying.” Lance thought he might have been feeling a little better, but his tail was still black, and it still thumped heavily on the floor. He leaned his face into Keith’s hand and closed his eyes. “You haven’t lied. I just can’t get out of my own way right now.” The growl in his throat died down and he sighed. “I won’t give up, but it’s so hard sometimes. It’s like there’s this little voice inside of me that’s still trying to convince me you’d be better off without me around. I know that’s not true. I know we’ve talked about it before. But sometimes it’s just so convincing.” His tail thumped again, but the black was fading, and now it was the same silver as his neck and chest. “It keeps telling me I’m useless, and there’s no reason for you to stay with me.”

“I’d be dead without you.” Keith’s level and honest voice left no room for debate. He didn’t go for dramatics. He stated a simple truth. The sun was in the sky. Water was in the ocean. Grass was green. Keith would be dead if not for Lance.

“I don’t want you to die…” Lance sighed and looked at him again, the tears welling up in his eyes once more. “I’m sorry. I just haven’t…And it all came out at once.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s fine to feel things. Isn’t it? You taught me that. We feel hurt, pain, love, joy and all that stuff because that’s what being alive is. It’s not always perfect. Things hurt us. We hurt others. We hurt each other. But we also do a lot of good things. We have friends that mean the world to us. I have you and you have me.” Keith looked up at the ceiling, pulling Lance’s head down to chest again, letting the dragon cry those tears which had been levied for too long.

“I know you don’t want me to die. But since meeting you, I started to care if I did. If you weren’t in my life…” Keith shook his head. “The things I would have missed out on.” Tears sprang to his own eyes. “The moments in the cliff side shrine. Teaching me how to farm. Holding me on a cold winter night, your breath against my neck.” He swallowed back a small sob. “How it feels to be loved.”

Lance let Keith hold his head against his chest like that, but his hands slid up his lover’s back, between the wings, as though he could try to comfort him that way. His tail shifted and the silver gave way to pale blue. “No one could ever love you as much as I do.” He whispered and lifted his head to look at him. “Which is why it hurts when I can’t do anything for you.”

“Stupid Lizard,” Keith sighed and nuzzled the top of Lance’s head, adjusting when he felt the hands around his back. “Open your ears and listen to me. You loving me is everything to me. Nothing else matters to me if I don’t have that. You saying you can’t do anything for me is like you having no idea how much you mean to me, or how badly I need you.” Keith tensed his jaw as he fought back tears. “I’m lost and scared if you’re not with me. Without you, I don’t … this world and everything in it, is just ashes. Grey burnt up relics.”

Lance shifted and this time he pulled Keith to his chest and held him closer. “I’m like this because I lost you. I never want to lose you again. And I never want you to feel the pain of losing me. I’m sorry I’m like this. I just want everything to go back to what it was before that stupid…before she tried to take you from me.” He lifted a hand to touch his cheek, brushing it with his thumb. “I’m sorry I’m testing your patience so much.”

“Stop apologizing.” Keith sniffed, already embarrassed for admitting what he did. It was never easy for him to come out and say that he was scared. “I just want to focus on you and anything I can do for you.”

“Tell me you love me.” Lance murmured and kept touching his cheek. “And let me make you breakfast.”

Keith’s eyes shifted off to the side the tiniest of pouts pushing his lower lip. “In bed?”

“Only if you tell me you love me.” Lance brushed his thumb over his lower lip.

Keith shivered and turned his head back to Lance. “I love you.” Overly sensitive skin reacted to Lance’s touch and ignored Keith’s will as he flushed with goose bumps traveling down his neck.

Lance smiled, the first actual smile since Keith had come back to him, and he leaned in, giving him a quick kiss. “Then relax, and I will make you breakfast.”

“Lance…” Keith blinked when the taller man walked away, leaving him to flop back on the bed, his arm coming up to rest over his eyes. He was such an easy mark. “Stupid Lizard.” Keith sighed but blushed more, seeing the smile on Lance’s face created a sensation of vibrating giddiness inside his stomach.

Lance’s tail, bright blue and green, swished behind him as he stood at the stove and made Keith some pancakes. He knew the conversation was heavy, but he hadn’t felt this light in a while, and he was thankful for it. He flipped the pancakes and set them on a plate, making up a tray for Keith. Pancakes, fruit, cream, juice. Anything the bird could have wanted. He glanced through the open bedroom door at him. Watching the way he seemed to roll a bit on the bed before he walked in there and set the tray down on the side table. “Here.”

“T-thanks.” Keith sat back up, his hair standing every which way and getting up in the cuffs lining his ears. “It looks really good!” Blue eyes got larger as he stared at the food in front of him.

“Well, then you should eat it.” Lance reached out and fixed Keith hair, shaking his head a little. “I’ll come eat with you, too. Give me a minute.” He was up again, but back in moments, sitting next to Keith on the bed with a bowl of cereal in his hand.

After Lance seemed to groom him and had a seat, Keith eyed the bowl then looked up at him with a mouth full of pancake and managed to muffle out, “That’s all you’re having?”

“I ate two while I was making them. I couldn’t help it.” Lance nodded a little as he took a bite of his cereal. “Plus I like watching you eat.”

“Eh?” Keith turned a little pinker than he wanted to. “W-why?”

“Because you’re enjoying something I made for you.” Lance touched one of Keith’s reddening cheeks. “It makes me feel good.”

An audible swallow came from Keith as he forced half a pancake down his throat. “Oh, well it’s good.” He looked for anything else to stare at, but Keith’s eyes fell upon Lance, again. “You’re … welcome?” The words seemed weird to say in this situation, and he searched his memories for a similar experience, but he couldn’t find one telling him what to do say when someone enjoyed watching you eat.

Lance shook his head and looked down at his cereal. “It makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it?”

“No! No, you’ve never told me how.” Keith blinked then lowered his eyes shamefully. “I think I get all this stuff down. But you know, people are always changing, and I keep learning new things and sometimes I don’t know what to do. So, I need you for even that kind of mundane stuff too.” Keith took his phone off the stand and showed Lance.

“Four-hundred years and I only have seven phone numbers. I guess it makes sense. But when my memories were messed up, it struck me as really lonely. Like, how did I get on in my life?” Keith rubbed his nose a bit. “Since meeting you, I’ve tripled the people I know.”

Lance shook his head. “You knew all of them before, too. You just forgot.” He looked at him. “You were always true to yourself. Maybe you were lonely. Maybe you didn’t understand. But you were still you. You were always like that. And something tells me you’re not going to rush out to be friends with everyone any time soon.”

“Well no. People make me nervous.” Keith sighed. “And humans die. We don’t. There’s no point in getting to know them just watch them die. I’ve seen it a lot already.”

“True…” Lance lifted a hand and ruffled his hair. “But you do it anyway because you want to comfort them when they go. That was your job, right?”

“Yeah, part of it. I kinda made it that way.” Keith trilled to Lance’s touch, feeling the happy sound in the back of his throat. “There was more to it. I saw a lot of things that were impossible. I mean do you know what the average life span of a human is now? It’s shot up just 30 years in less than a century. Can you imagine what someone like Pidge could do with medical science?” Keith’s eyes glittered in excitement.

“I suppose.” Lance looked at him. “But I’m sure she’s staying out of it on purpose.” He shook his head slightly. “They still have a lifespan. We still have to be careful. I only got on as I did because I lived near some native people, and they took good care of me, but they knew I wasn’t human before I even started talking to them…”

Keith blinked up at Lance. “Oh?”

“The elders knew. They saw it. And they took me in…so for a while I hunted with their hunters, and I sang with their mothers.” Lance bowed his head. “And I died a little more each night because even though I was surrounded with people who tried to treat me well, I was so lonely and cold.”

Keith touched his cheek. Lance rarely spoke about their time apart. Keith was afraid to talk about himself, unsure how it would change the delicate balance Lance had with his mentality. Would knowing he had happy times make Lance upset because he was able to find a moment of happiness without him? Would knowing he was sad make Lance fall back into despair because he wasn’t there to protect him? So Keith just stayed silent and allowed Lance the space to talk.

Lance leaned against him a bit and closed his eyes, focusing his thoughts for a moment before he opened them again and looked at him. “I know I don’t always react well to things. And I know there are times when I get upset because I’m the one who remembers everything and suffers for it, but even in my suffering, I would never want to forget you.” His eyes glistened with tears and he managed a tiny smile. “I would rather suffer for a thousand years than have you go even one day without me knowing who you are.”

Keith swallowed and a stab struck his chest. “I-I know. I’m sorry.”

Lance winced a little at Keith’s response and he sighed. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I did. I always do, don’t I?” He bowed his head and clenched his eyes shut. “I’m the worst…”

His arms tightened around Lance and Keith held his face into his hair. “No. I know you didn’t mean it that way. In a way though it’s not wrong. I’ve hurt you a thousand times worse than you could possibly hurt me. Right? I wandered around ignorant and you suffered knowing I was out there but couldn’t find me. I was going mad, wanting to be found, but I didn’t understand by who.” Keith started to kiss his cheek, then to his ear.

“That day you appeared in the ally way was the first day I ever believed in heroes.”

“It’s their fault, not yours. They hurt me, not you.” Lance whispered and slowly opened his eyes as those kisses calmed him. “You never wanted that. You suffered, too. You had your moments of happiness, but you also had your moments of sadness. I never once blamed you for any of that.” He looked at Keith and managed another one of those tiny smiles. Keith had no idea just how much Lance needed to hear even just the slightest positive thing about himself. “That day in the alley…I was so bitter towards you, and I shouldn’t have been. I’m so sorry.”

“It didn’t last long. You had me in bed under an hour.” Keith laughed softly against his cheek.

“I guess that’s true.” Lance’s shoulders relaxed a bit. Keith’s laughter was like the best medicine. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Keith held Lance for a while, just stroking his hair until his phone buzzed.

“Should you answer that?” Lance made no move to pull away from Keith.

“I suppose I should.” Keith side as he reached out to get his phone, his other hand combing through Lance’s hair. “Hello? Hm. Yeah he’s getting better. I’m alright. That’s any of your business!” Keith was flushed now. “Yeah. An hour should be fine. Alright see you then.”

Keith hung up the phone and sighed. “I’ll need to shower.”

“Which one of them was it?” Lance looked at him, frowning just a bit at the way Keith was blushing from something someone else said, and not something he did to him. His eyes darkened for a moment, but he shook his head to clear it and he settled back. “Okay. Go shower then.”

“Shiro. He said they got some information, and he’ll be here soon.” Keith sat up and stretched. “I’ll be out quick.” His wings wrapped around the lean god like a gilded cape, showing only a flash of Lance’s marks on his skin before he disappeared down the hall.

Keith slid up against the shower wall. The cold spray struck him, turning the bathroom into a sauna. Alone now, he let the weariness show. His face crumbled into the sunken features of a worn out solider. Tired. Shell shocked. Spent. Nerves frayed yet knotted to keep going.

He wasn’t a machine. At least not anymore. Keith’s hands trembled as they washed the soap from his hair and combed his fingers through his wings. He had his first moment alone since his fight with Nizha. The first chance he allowed his body and heart to feel the repercussions. It hurt. Gods did it hurt. The guilt. The pain. The memories. He’d never hear Nizha’s voice again. Never watch him drool over women and fail miserably at picking them up. He’d never see his face light up for a fight or soften while trying to implant worldly advice. Keith had no one to blame but himself. His power strangled the life from him. Even though he tried to shut down to save himself this pain, Nizha wouldn’t allow it. The demi-god had been right. In that form, his will to survive wasn’t strong enough. He would not have won if Nizha hadn’t broke him out of it by playing up to his role as a villain. But still, “Shit…”

After quickly getting dressed, Lance listened to the water of the shower as he cleaned up the remnants of breakfast and put the dishes in the sink. His head bowed over the dirty plates as he focused on keeping himself calm, but Keith seemed to forget who Lance was. Seiryuu was a water god. And he could feel the regret, the pain, the sadness as it washed down the drain. His fists clenched a little against the sink and he closed his eyes.

The guilt was overwhelming. Lance had been so concerned about his own corruption that he didn’t take the time to comfort Keith. How could he? He wasn’t exactly the epitome of empathy when his heart was blackened. But was that an excuse? Shouldn’t he have held Keith and let him cry on him? Shouldn’t he have at least tried? Instead of fucking the bird senseless in a desperate attempt to possess him and fix himself.

But Keith wouldn’t have wanted those fake platitudes, either. If Lance couldn’t have been empathetic to his pain, he wouldn’t have wanted him to try to comfort him. He wouldn’t have wanted fake sympathy or any pity, either. So did he do the right thing? He shook his head. If he thought about how much he failed Keith yet again, he would only undo all of the work Keith had done in the past four days. Neither of them could afford that.

When he finally heard the water stop, he straightened himself up and took a few deep breaths. At least now, while his scales on his tail were still vibrant, he could at least give Keith the care he needed, even if that darkness threatened to close in around his heart again.

Keith watched Lance from the door way, his wet hair dripping down his neck and his wings folded round him, wrapping more securely and more comforting than any fluffy towel.

He stepped forward, his feet slapping against the tile of the kitchen and he laid his head wordlessly against Lance’s back. He knew he didn’t have to speak. Seiryuu understood. No reason to explain with anything more than a thin white arm wrapping around the dragon’s waist.

Lance turned and pulled Keith against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He absorbed the water that still clung to Keith. It was a small thing, but it was meant to be comforting in its own way. He would share any tears Keith could or couldn’t shed. He held him like that for a moment before he kissed the top of his head again and whispered, “Don’t hide from me anymore, okay? I can handle whatever you throw at me. Trust me to be able to help you.”

Keith smiled. “I know. But whenever you see my pain, you toss yours aside and make it about me. I didn’t want you to do that this time.” Keith turned his head up. “I wanted to be the one to take care of you.”

“I know. But I don’t want you to ignore your needs in favor of mine, okay?” Lance held him closer and looked down at him. “Let’s get through this together.”

“Like we could fathom any other way?” Keith smiled just as a polite cough came from the door. “S-shiro!?”

“Yeah, you left the door open.” Shiro’s Asian features looked over the two lovers with a mix of pride, amusement, and envy. He didn’t desire either of the younger gods. He knew them both too well and had supported their relationship for too long to have any feelings in that regard. But who wouldn’t want someone to love them the way those two obviously loved each other.

“And you just walk right in?” Keith arched a brow completely unaware of his state of undress until Shiro politely looked away.

“Your wings open when you talk with your hands.”

“Huh?”

“Your wings. They open when your talk with your hands.” Shiro repeated.

“I don’t… OH!” Keith’s eyes widened, and he jumped behind Lance, his wings wrapping around himself as tightly as they could. “Jerk!”

Lance looked at Keith, then at Shiro, then at Keith again before he shook his head and nudged him. “Shiro will look away so you can run to the bedroom and get dressed.” He looked back at the larger man and narrowed his eyes just slightly as though challenging him. “And he will forget he saw anything.”

“Yes. Yes of course.” Shiro turned his head away and coughed a little. “I saw nothing. I see nothing.”

“See? Go on.” Lance nudged Keith a little.

In a blur of red and yellow Keith was gone, the bedroom door slamming shut behind him. Shiro looked back over at Lance. “Somehow, I’m the bad guy?” Shiro shook his head and leaned his hip against the counter his smile fading. “How are you though?”

“No, but that would have been something you could have said before. Now he’s going to be embarrassed for a while.” Lance shrugged and looked over at the bedroom door before he turned his eyes to Shiro. “I’ve been better. I still need to get better. Keith has it worse right now.”

“That might be true.” Shiro looked over at the door and shook his head. “Keith will eventually be okay. He always is. I’m not sure how he does it but he does. He doesn’t falter.” Shiro sighed. “You though… you’ve never fallen before.” Obviously looking at his scales.

“Keith’s been purifying you this whole time?”

“Yes, though he probably did too much in too short a time.” Lance bowed his head as the guilt set in once more.

Shiro took the liberty and roughed up Lance’s hair. “Don’t worry about that. Keith’s stronger than he looks.”

“Look who you’re talking to and try saying that again.” Lance mumbled, but he didn’t seem upset.

“I know. That’s why I said it.” Shiro kept his hand in Lance’s hair.

“Said what?” Keith emerged from the bed room. His hair pulled up at the sides, wings back, and another old band t-shirt hanging loose over form hugging black jeans.

“Nothing to worry about. Now that your dressed. We should meet up with the guys. But ummm.” Shiro gestured silently to Keith’s wings. “Those?”

Keith sighed. “Don’t go in as easily anymore. Not without some… umm…” Keith blushed a bit.

“Can mortals see them? Like this?” Shiro asked with his hand on his chin.

“Well, I don’t know. I haven’t tried.” Keith admitted.

Lance shook his head and moved behind Keith, gently adjusting the back of the torn tee so it sat better around his wings. “I can hide them from you, but I’d rather no one else saw them at all, in case my power wavers.” He gently rested his hand on Keith’s back, between the wings. “Besides, you’ve been showing them a lot to everyone else lately, even though they’re supposed to be mine.”

Keith repressed a shudder and bowed his head. “I’ll pull them in.”

Shiro blinked and turned his back, folding his arms. It took only that? Genbu and Suzaku would have had that fight for days before, but one word from Lance and ‘boom’ done deal?

Heat against blasted against Shiro’s back as Keith’s power flared. He heard a small gasp, tell-tale of Suzaku pulling his wings back in. Shiro always wondered what it felt like, but it seemed like one of those questions too intimate to ask. When Shiro turned around he found his estimation to be accurate. Keith’s cheeks where flushed and his hand gripped Lance’s arm.

“You both ready now?”

“Give him a minute.” Lance pulled Keith into his arms and held him for a moment, kissing his forehead in an attempt to cool him down. “And let me get him a better shirt. This one has holes in the back.”

“Alright, I’ll be in the truck.” Shiro shrugged letting it go. Sometimes life was about picking battles. “Just hurry it up.”

Shiro smirked before hopping out the door.

“It’s not like we always have sex.” Keith pouted, picking up Genbu’s double meaning even as he leaned most of his weight in Lance’s arms.

“What a brat.” Lance shook his head once Shiro left, and he looked at Keith. He smiled, but then he pulled him into the bedroom and went to the closet to get him another shirt. “Here.” He handed over one of his tees, though at least this one was for some show and not some band.

“I won’t complain, but I do have my own clothes. You just like seeing me in your shirts.” Keith smiled as he removed the torn shirt. The lean muscles of his back shifting fluidly below his kiss bruised flesh. The stripes over his flanks were still the deep black but the edges were fading as though healing from a burn.

“I do. I can’t help it. Besides, you like that they smell like me.” Lance grinned and tapped Keith’s cheek. “And I like when you smell like me.”

“Dragons and their possessions.” Keith smirked as he nipped at Lance’s finger. “Something wrong with my scent?”

“I love your scent. I don’t want to share it with anyone. I’ve already shared your cuteness and your wings. Leave me something.” Lance leaned in and gave Keith a quick kiss before he took his hand and gently tugged him out of the bedroom. “Shiro’s going to make more comments if we make him wait too long.”

“Oie!! You’re calling me cute again!?” Keith growled, more embarrassed than upset.

Keith stumbled out the door, avoiding a nose-dive into Lance’s back by a hair. Instead he ended up with his chin over his shoulder and dark red cheeks.

“Hop in.” Shiro put a cigarette out then in a pocket tin. Keith blinked a few times unaware the elder god had taken on such a habit, but when you’re immortal you don’t have to worry about your health.

“Where are we going?” Keith crawled into the cab of the truck, snorting at the ease his longer legged companions had with the task.

“I’ll fill you in when we get on the road.”

Lance climbed up after Keith, nodding a little at Shiro’s words. His tail was gone now, which made it a little easier for him to get settled. He shifted once he was sitting down, his hand coming to rest on Keith’s thigh as he turned his head a bit to listen to Shiro. “What’s up?”

“We’re going to Washington.” Shiro shifted into a higher gear.

“Okay? Why?” Keith blinked.

“We’ll talk more once we meet up with the others.” Shiro said.

Keith sunk back in the seat, nudging Lance to wrap his arm around him while he held chin. “Who is in Washington? The only…” Keith turned his head up. “No. Him?”

Lance blinked a little at that and arched a brow. “Who? What?” He frowned slightly, feeling more out of the loop than usual, but that’s probably because he was.

“Yue Lao.” Keith whispered for Lance’s benefit. “He’s the only god that I know of who would have been around at the time. But decades ago he forsook immortality and lived out a human life. He was living happily with his wife in a lumber town last I knew.”

“A guy like that? I mean, he’s harmless. I don’t think I could-” Shiro pressed his hand to Keith’s face, smushing his lips shut.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. We will talk as a group.” Shiro insisted again.

Lance sighed and sank back against the seat. He closed his eyes and thought about the times he was able to talk to Yue Lao back in heaven. Another one of the moon. Another one who looked after Seiryuu when he was a listless, uninspired water dragon. Yue Lao, Chang’e, Houyi.. They had been the only ones unafraid of befriending the dragon before that fateful day Suzaku tried to assassinate him. He shook his head to stop himself from going down a darker path, and he opened his eyes once more, taking Keith’s hand in his own as he looked out the window.

Keith sighed, eyeing Lance’s profile. “You were close with him.” Keith turned his hand up to hold Lance’s. “I promise, last I saw he was happy.” Keith let those words sit as they were. It wasn’t easy for a god to be happy in this world, but a god who had become a human and for love? Well Yue Lao was the living proof that anything was possible.

They pulled into a dusty small-town street. Nothing special. Main Street America tended to all be the same; cute shops, an old hardware store, a movie theater that should have shut down three decades ago still showing the block busters from last year for only four dollars, and of course the coffee shop. Keith wasn’t a fan of Starbucks or Caribou. Give him the renovated two story Victorian style privately run coffee shop, with its multi-hair-colored baristas and hipsters on iPads any day.

‘Dessert Frost’ had all of that in spades. Keith found his own personal heaven and he smiled as he walked in. Knotted planks of wood creaked on the floor while paintings by homegrown artists lined the wall. Keith smelled the oil in the paint and made his eyes glimmer in delight. An open staircase went up to a floor, where they sold alpaca wool sweaters and home-made oils.

Keith stepped over to a painting, smiling as he touched the outer edge. “Sweet Serenade.” The title tag said, and it sold for $85 dollars. The image had a boat painted on a thickly layered blue river, with two figures sitting together, their faces blurred. Keith didn’t care for the painting per se, but he loved the concept that it existed.

Lance said nothing as he followed Keith into the coffee shop. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and glanced around. He wasn’t sure why they decided to meet up here of all places, since the RV was fine, but he wasn’t going to complain. “Do you want anything?” He asked, to Keith and to Shiro, glancing at the barista behind the counter.

“Hm?” Keith looked up from where he was playing with a small assortment of polished rocks and he smiled. “I’ll just have a coffee. Whatever the house blend is.”

Shiro smiled at Keith with a fondness that seemed to be held only for these rare moments and only for the younger immortal. He shook his head and looked at Lance. “Tea. Sencha if they have it. Otherwise any green tea blend will be fine.”

“Hey! Up here!” Keith whirled his head around and found Pidge and Hunk sitting at a four top against the upstairs railing with Pidge’s arms failing wildly as if energy could make up for height.

Lance nodded and shuffled towards the counter, half tuning out the sounds of the others as they walked up the stairs to where the others were waiting. He spoke lowly to the barista, ordering Keith’s coffee and Shiro’s tea. He waited patiently, steeling himself before he took the two drinks up to the others and set them down on the table. “Here.”

Keith scooted his chair closer to Lance when he sat down, his arm hooking around him as though saying ‘you’ve been away too long.’ “Well we’re all here.”

Pidge nodded her head. “I’m sure you’ve deduced why we’re meeting up.” She waited for Keith to nod. “Yue Lao. You remember him, right?”

“Of course. Nice old man, shaggy beard.” Keith’s arm tightened around Lance.

“Yes. He went by the name Charles Lin while he was living in the States. He married. Had two kids.” Pidge continued.

“Yeah. I know. I wrote all that down.” Keith was trying not to sound impatient even has his foot tapped and his eyes wandered about the room.

“He died, 3 years ago. Natural causes. Heart Failure, according to the autopsy report.” Pidge said, ever the abrupt one.

Lance winced and bowed his head a little, his fists clenching under the table. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear about his friend, but at the same time, maybe it was a relief that he was already gone? It meant they didn’t have to fight him, at least. In his fragile state, he couldn’t have a repeat of what happened with Nizha. “Then why are we talking about him?”

“He had a mansion.” Pidge sipped at her malt.

“How are you sure?” Keith knew he shouldn’t have bothered asking. Pidge was rarely wrong but in this case it just didn’t make sense.

“When you were banished. He came to Hunk and asked for passage to earth. He wanted to keep the mansions safe.” Pidge explained.

“After a time even we lost track of him, and the next we heard about him was in Keith’s note book. Meaning you came across him.” Hunk pointed without accusation at the dark-haired man.

“Well yeah, but I didn’t remember him at the time. He was too interlaced with my memories of Seiryuu. I couldn’t place him.” Keith’s fingers folding into Lance’s.

“What happens then, when a mortal dies with your mansions?” Pidge inquired. “Without either of you to take care of it?”

“I-I don’t know.” Keith looked to Shiro who just shrugged his shoulders.

Lance grimaced and shook his head. “I’ll probably have to eat his dead body unless he somehow removed the seal and put it elsewhere. As far as I know, Keith’s mansions can be removed before death…my seals can’t be.” The pain in his voice was obvious, and he stared down at the table and focused on the grain patterns in the wood.

“Lance, maybe it’s not like that.” Hunk looked over at his friend, concern knitting his brows.

“Maybe it’s not, but how likely is it to be different when the previous five were all like that?” Lance muttered.

“Because everything has to be complicated, right?” Keith sighed as he sat back in his chair. “Either way, we’re not going to figure anything out by sitting here and discussing it. We should go out there and figure out what we can.”

“To Washington?” Hunk asked.

“Yup. To Washington.” Sighed Shiro, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

\-----

Lance stood in front of the well-kept marble headstone, his fist clenching around the handle of the large umbrella he held over Keith and himself. They stood side-by-side, not bothered by the rain, not that it would have hit them anyway, but appearances had to be upheld. There was an older couple several rows away, smiling as they held hands and talked to some relative or friend that was buried beneath them. Lance envied them. He couldn’t bring himself to think clearly let alone say anything, even as he felt Keith’s hand on his own.

Instead he blinked back tears and closed his eyes. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. But it was so like Yue Lao to try to help him even after everything. And now he no longer existed. Lance couldn’t help feel guilty about it, even though somewhere he knew his old friend made the choices he made for reasons other than protecting Seiryuu and Suzaku.

Keith rocked back on his heels as he looked around the cemetery. A late winter humidity settled like a heavy blanket over the area causing a gray fog lift from the melting snow. Keith moved himself in closer to Lance allowing the dragon to take more of his heat. Weather like this, while not wretched, had a tendency to soak into the skin and chill the body down to the bone. Keith wrapped his arm around Lance’s narrow waist, pulling him in and taking the umbrella from him and into his right hand so less separated them.

“You okay?” Keith wasn’t sure why he asked, he knew the answer.

Lance glanced over at Keith and shook his head a few times before he looked back at the grave in front of him. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel, but right now I just feel so sad.”

“I know. It’s alright to feel that way. It’s normal.” Keith smiled sadly down at the marker. ‘Here lies Charles Lin. Beloved Husband and Father.’ A simple epitaph but to creatures like them it told a whole story. “It’s not tragic. You knew him best. If he had to pick, wouldn’t this have been it?”

Keith crouched down in front of the marker, his hand resting on the smooth polished curve. “They even buried him as a Catholic. Did Yue Lao always have a sense of humor?”

“I know he was happy. He wouldn’t have risked himself if he didn’t think it would be worth it.” Lance sighed and took the umbrella before Keith crouched, holding it over him as he nodded. “He did. He always tried to make me laugh. And he was so happy for me when you gave me life.” His voice wavered.

“So,” Keith looked back at the set of vehicles lining the gravel drive cemetery grounds where Pidge and the others waited patiently for them. They wouldn’t push, they would wait until dawn if Lance needed them too. Keith, however, not a patient person. “Do we dig him up?” He had to ask despite the delicacy of the issue. He didn’t want to be insensitive but someone had to ask.

“No.” Lance shook his head and sighed. “I don’t feel my seal in there. There’s no pull. Do you feel anything?”

Keith shook his head. “No. I don’t feel anything here. Not even a sense of death.” Suzaku looked around the area before he closed his eyes and touched the earth below his feet. ‘Ghost’ flared on the back of his neck, and the smaller god gasped.

“He was never buried here. The earth was never disturbed.” Keith stood up, the world spinning about him. He’d had seen the last decade of this land’s life in the blink of a second. Foot step, cars, hearses, and all manner of life celebrating death. But nothing had ever come to the spot below their feet.

Lance moved to steady Keith when he rose to his feet, holding him even after he was sure he was okay. “So what do we do now?” He frowned slightly and looked over at the others in the cars. “And what do we tell them? We have to start over?”

“I don’t know. Do we know if he’s even dead, now?” Keith looked at Lance. The notion horrified him. He didn’t want Lance to suffer even an ounce of what Keith had to go through, what he is still going through, with Nizha.

“Papa is dead. Don’t worry about that.” Keith blinked and jumped into Lance.

“AH! Creepy Child!” His heart was in his throat as he looked at the small black-haired girl leaning over the grave. Standing in a frilly blue dress with lace and ribbons, in the very space he occupied moments ago. It took a lot to startle Keith, but everyone had a limit. Mysterious children in a graveyard was Keith’s.

Lance caught Keith and held him a little closer, blinking at the child. “But he’s not here, right? Was he cremated?”

The little girl shook her head as she straightened up, her back still to the men. “No such thing would have been possible.”

Keith looked between Lance and the girl. “Who are you?”

“Feng Niao.” The girl turned around and met Keith’s eyes without a flinch. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald fading into violet, their beauty froze Suzaku in place. ‘Humming Bird’ was certainly a suitable name.

Lance blinked at the girl, but then another small child seemed to appear behind her, his dark hair falling messily in front of vibrant, twilight eyes. Just like Yue Lao. Lance felt the tears sting his eyes before he forced them back and shook his head slightly. “Was Mr. Lin your father?”

The boy nodded, looked at his sister for a moment before he stepped closer to Lance. “Are you uncles Longwei and Kaitiao?”

Keith stiffened. He hadn’t heard those names in centuries. “We. Are?” He paused between each word and looked over his shoulder at the other three gods, but they appeared unbothered by the visitors. “You’re Lao’s children? You’re human?”

“You think children born of a god even if the god is human, would be normal?” The girl asked with a quirk of her eye brow.

“No. Your mother than?” Keith asked looking around the graveyard.

“Over there.” The girl pointed to another stone, one decades older, chipped and growing moss. It out aged the children, who appeared younger than 12.

“I see.”

The boy walked up to Lance and reached up to grab his sleeve while his sister talked. Lance blinked and looked down at him, but then he rested a hand on his head and ruffled his hair, causing the child to giggle. “You’ve been without them for a long time…I’m so sorry.”

The boy shook his head. “Papa always told us our uncles would come one day. And he made sure that we told you our names.”

“Oh?” Lance blinked. “And you are?”

“Long Wei.” The boy beamed, totally unfazed by the way Lance’s expression seemed to crumble and tears fell from his eyes. Just as he was unfazed when Lance fell to his knees and pulled the boy close to his chest in a tight, but gentle hug.

“Lance?” Keith took a step over only to have the little girl rest her hand over his and shake her head. “Long Wei is the sentimental type. Just like your Longwei.” She sighed and folded her arms across her chest. “It’s best to let that kind cry it out. Sometimes.”

Keith watched the little girl, a little annoyed, a little creeped out, but oddly endeared. “We’re sorry about your loss. It’s hard to be alone.”

“We’re okay. We like it here and we have others around if we feel lonely, but Papa told us that you two would be here today. He said for us to be here on this day at this time.”

Keith blinked but he nodded his head. Sometimes gods were mysterious to even gods.

Lance kept holding little Long Wei even after his tears had slowed, and he lifted his head to look at Keith and the girl. “Why? How did he know that it would be today?”

Feng Niao shook her head, her black braids tossing about her face. “Papa knew things.” The girl said with a shrug.

“But why send you two?” Keith looked between the children. A sense of dread entered the pit of his stomach.

“I’m your mansion.” Feng Niao looked up at Keith with those summer meadow eyes and reached out for him. Keith quailed back in panic, tumbled over a grave stone, and fell on the back of his head.

“Lance get away from them!!” He cried as his vision swam from the impact.

Lance blinked and tried to move fast enough to catch Keith as he toppled over the stone, but Long Wei clung to him and shook his little head. “Do not be afraid.” He whispered and looked over at Keith. “Feng Niao is not like the others.”

Lance winced and picked the kid up so he could go over to Keith and check his head. “What does that mean?”

Keith turned his head between Lance and the child in his arms. His terrified expression unhidden and raw. “I can’t. Not children.”

Feng Niao looked at Keith in curiosity as she stepped closer to him. She found herself greeted by a wall of flame. “Stay away!” Keith shouted and pressed himself against another head stone, his eyes wild and frightened.

“Keith! Lance!” Shiro shouted as they started to run toward the small group. The sparse people in the cemetery stopped to look around, thinking they saw smoke, but quickly disregarded the notion. Leaving the group of gods alone.

Lance set Long Wei down, though the boy clung to his arm even as he moved to Keith’s side and rested his hand on the other man’s cheek. He glanced over at the others, shaking his head, the rain falling heavier, bordering on hail as it fell between the two groups. “Go back to the car.”

He stared until they had no choice but to head back. He knew that it was too much to ask, so he wasn’t asking it. This was something they had to do. So he pulled Keith to his side and kissed the top of his head, levelling dragon eyes on the girl who was momentarily stopped by that flame. “Explain. Don’t move. We will not take anything back if it means harming children. Your father knew as much. So explain what you really mean.”

Long Wei finally let go of Lance and walked to his sister, taking her hand and looking up at her. “They’re scared of us.”

“Shi-” Keith started to call out to the older god until Lance took him into his arms and held his trembling body against his chest. “L-lance, I can’t. I really can’t.” Keith whispered feeling his chest burn. The idea of killing innocents, to destroy something as pure as child’s soul for his own greed, the very core of Keith’s nature rejected it. physically.

Feng Niao looked at the two gods as though she were staring at lost pets. Her eyes were impassive with a touch of child-like wonder. “They’re scared because they believe they have to kill us.” She whispered after a long-locked gaze into Keith’s eyes. “They’ve killed already and for all but one, had no remorse for their actions. The smaller one.” Feng Niao smiled. “Is hurting.” Concern filled those emerald eyes and they turned to Lance.

“I didn’t mean to hurt Papa’s friends. I couldn’t understand until I saw you both.” She pulled a small chain out from around her neck. “For him.” A tiny orb lay clasped the to the chain, silver and ornate and with something glowing through the hinges. “For Suzaku. Father pulled it out himself and gave it to me for safe keeping.”

Lance held Keith close and cooled him as best he could, stroking his hair and rocking him gently while he listened to Feng Niao. “Shh.” He murmured to Keith as he kept trying to comfort him. “See? We wouldn’t hurt them. We know that. They know that. Yue Lao would never have let that happen.”

Long Wei smiled brightly. “That means they’re good uncles. Just like Papa said.” He squeezed his sister’s hand. “You should give him his mansion now.”

Lance relaxed a little more. “Keith, it’s okay.” He kissed the top of his head. “I trust whatever Yue Lao did, so trust me, trust his children, okay?”

Keith bade his body to Lance’s gentle coaxing. He turned his head back to the children, their eyes imploring and their expressions so adult like yet filled with a curiosity only children possessed. A timid hand reached out to the small round locket.

“Well.” Keith whispered. His long lashes thatched together as he closed his eyes, his fingers turning to beckon the light to come forth. It jumped from the trinket and into his hand, the golden glowing heat of Suzaku spread over his body and centered upon his lower abdomen. It swirled and pulsed like the beat of a heart before vanishing.

Keith held his hand over his lap, his head bowed as he watched his fingers flex. Eventually they came to rest against his stomach, where the character last glowed.

Lance watched, his expression softening as Keith took that light into himself. He slowly pulled his arms from around him to give his lover the room he needed to move, but he lifted his hand to touch his cheek. Keith’s absorption of that light seemed to cause him to change. Maybe the others wouldn’t notice, but there was something about him. His skin, his hair, his eyes, all shone with a healthy kind of glow, not that he was unhealthy before. He just seemed especially healthy and happy.

He smiled and slid that hand over his cheek, his fingers brushing over his lips. “I didn’t think it was possible for you to get more beautiful and perfect, but here you are.”

Keith smiled serenely up at Lance. The expression was knowing yet one of absolute silence. He allowed Seiryuu his moment of reverence before he kissed the god’s palm. “Go get yours from the boy. I know where the last ones are.” Keith turned his head and eyed the distant figures of Hunk and Pidge.

He wasn’t sure why something tugged at the corner of his mind when Keith kissed his palm, but there was a distinct, but vague feeling just out of reach. It was oddly comforting, though, and so Lance paid it no mind. He smiled at Keith and nodded a little. “All right.” He stood and walked towards the children.


	14. Which Gentle Fire Roars?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

“This is for you.” Long Wei held out his close-fisted hand, and when he opened his fingers, a small, silver key rested in his palm. “I made sure to take extra good care of it for you, Uncle Longwei.” 

Lance looked down at the key, and he reached out for it, an electric kind of spark flowing through his body as his fingertips touched the metal. “You did well, Long Wei.” He took the key from the boy, looking down at the way the metal shimmered with moonlight, and the tears came to his eyes again.

He tucked the key away and rested his hand on the boy’s head, ruffling his hair slightly. “What about you two? What will you do now?”

Long Wei smiled up at him. “You don’t need to worry about us, Uncles. Papa made sure everything would work out for us. And we will see you again.” He took his sister’s hand and smiled. “And you can feel good about it when you see us because we will all be happy then.”

Lance nodded a little and stepped back to Keith’s side. “We should head out then, right?”

Keith stood up, watching the girl suspiciously and blushing only lightly when she gave him a knowing wink. He cleared his throat, his fist by his mouth to catch his cough before he leaned into Lance’s shoulder. They watched the children disappear down the trail like aberrations, Keith’s head bending an ear against Lance’s shoulder.

“So,” Keith started, his voice filled with eternal warmth. “Where from here?” 

Lance looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped when the kids walked away, and the clouds parted just enough to let the slightest sliver of moonlight out from behind their gray covers. He closed his eyes as he listened to the silence that surrounded them. “Devil’s Kettle. Do you know where that is?” He whispered as his eyes opened and he turned his face from the sky towards Keith once more.

Keith’s back straightened before he laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, I know it. Grand Marais. Northern Minnesota off the North Shore.” He placed a hand on his hip, a smirk baring his teeth defiantly. “Guess there’s a certain poetry in that. But I’ve never really like poems.” 

“Oh. So kind of back where we started.” Lance smiled a little at Keith’s laugh and he took his hand. “Then we should go soon hm?” He was glad he insisted on settling his commitments and taking the RV up here. And yet, it seemed to be what was ordained from the start, if Yue Lao told his children today would be the day. 

Keith nodded his head and slipped himself effortlessly into Lance’s stride, his hand wrapping around the taller man’s waist and finding a home in his lover’s jean pocket.

Lance smiled and walked back to the cars with him, keeping an arm around Keith’s shoulder even as Hunk almost tackled them. “We’re fine, Hunk.”

“How was that fine! That was all fire and ice, and it could have been bad!” Hunk had his hands on Lance’s cheeks, pushing them in a bit to smush him without hurting him. “Don’t tell me that was fine!”

“It’s fine.” Keith whispered, his voice soft and low, demanding attention and silence of everyone present. “We’re heading back to Minnesota. Lance has one more piece to get and then after that… we’ll all have a little talk.” He fixed his eyes on Hunk.

Hunk let go of Lance’s cheeks and looked at Keith, watching his face before his eyes widened. “Ooooh. Okay okay.” He nodded.

Lance rubbed the feeling back into his cheeks and pouted. “We should rest for a few hours before heading out. It’s a long drive, isn’t it?”

Keith closed his eyes and nodded. “Seventeen hours. Let’s head back into town. I could certainly use some rest.”

Lance nodded and took Keith’s hand, helping him into Shiro’s truck. He watched Hunk slide into the other car and talk to Pidge in a rather animated manner. “What’s that all about? Is Hunk actually mad at us?”

“Hm?” Keith turned over his shoulder to see the other two and smiled tiredly. “I think he’s happy we’re so close to being who we were.” He looked back to Lance. “They all take really good care of us. We’re lucky to have them.” Keith reached up and brushed a dried leaf from Lance’s hair.

Lance smiled at him. “I guess that makes sense.” He wasn’t sure where Keith’s sudden sentimentality came from, but he assumed it had something to do with that last mansion. He never totally understood what all of Suzaku’s mansions did. Some were obvious, but some were not. They weren’t like Lance’s which were all a part of his body somehow.

He pulled the silver key from his pocket and looked at it as Shiro drove back to the motel. He flipped it over in his hands and examined every last piece of it. “Yue Lao….really looked out for us, didn’t he?” His voice was quiet, and he fought back the tears once again. “I guess, he was the closest thing I had to family before I met you and became friends with everyone.”

“As close to a father as some gods can get.” Keith’s gaze flickered to Shiro who only smiled as he got out of the truck. “Though, I didn’t know him as well as you did. But he sounds like one heck of a guy.” Keith slipped out of the truck, waving to the others as they disappeared into their rooms for the night.

Lance nodded a little as he slid out of the truck and watched the others disappear into their rooms. He tucked that key away and started heading to the spot in the parking lot where they had the RV waiting. “How are you feeling?” He asked over his shoulder as he unlocked and opened the door. The slides were pushed in from the drive, so it was a little cramped, but there was still a clear path back to the bedroom, and all Lance wanted to do right now was curl up with Keith in the bed.

“I’m tired I guess, but otherwise fine.” Keith stepped in, his smaller frame easily slipping around Lance as he walked to the bed room, pulling his shirt over his head. “You?”

“Cold.” It wasn’t that he was actually cold, but he needed Keith’s warmth right now more than anything else. He locked up the door behind them and followed him into the bedroom. “I just…” He didn’t know how to articulate what he was feeling any more than he already had. So he just sighed and started pulling his shirt off.

“Cold?” Keith glanced at his lover from the corner of his eye. “That doesn’t seem right.” He stepped behind him, sliding his hands up his arms just in time to help him take the shirt off. Gentle yet calloused fingertips slid of the brown flesh, memorizing every turn of sinew, every flex of muscle, and every last divot along the way. He repeated the slow touches all the way back down to the center of Lance’s well-toned back. “You feel fine to me.” 

“I don’t know how else to explain it. I just need you.” Lance let out a soft gasp when Keith slid his hand down his back. “I just need to hold you, and to be held by you. It’s the only thing that will make me feel better.”

“Lay down.” Keith whispered against his shoulder. “You can hold me as much as you need to.”

“Okay.” Lance nodded and shimmied out of his pants before climbing into the bed and pulling the covers up enough to let Keith in with him.

Keith removed the last of his clothing before crawling over Lance. His bare body settled against his chest and moment Keith rested there, feeling flesh against flesh. He closed his eyes, sensing every move the form under him made. Lance’s strong steady heart beat released the tension from Keith’s shoulders, and his breathing pushed thick black bangs to tickle Keith’s cheeks. Before too long he moved to lay beside Lance, knowing Lance wanted to see his face as he laid with him. 

Lance made sure the blanket was settled without restricting his movement. Once that was done, he pulled Keith into his arms and nuzzled his cheek before he smiled at him. “Thank you.” He shifted and kissed Keith’s forehead.

“Hm?” Keith whispered while he moved his fingers in slow patterns around Lance’s back. His touch a light soothing acknowledgement as if to say ‘I’m here.’

“I just need to love you right now.” Lance watched Keith’s face, little chills shooting through his back at the gentle touches of his lover. “Is that ok?”

“Have I ever said no when you needed to love me?” Keith slid the point of one finger down the line of Lance’s spine, right to the point the dragon’s tail would be.

“No.” Lance shook his head and kissed him. “But you seem a little different now, not in a bad way. Just like I should cherish you more than usual.”

“Cherish?” Keith slipped in closer, feeling the barrier of their physical bodies like never before. He shifted legs move over Lance’s, weaving their limbs together in sensual knot of bronze and ivory skin. “How would you cherish me more than you already do?”

“I can be gentler.” Lance murmured as he shifted and leaned in to kiss Keith. “I can be more loving and tender.” Another kiss. “I can worship you the way you deserve to be worshipped.”

“Nng.” Keith’s eyes fluttered shut, and his voice got softer. The accolades were nothing new. Lance had a tendency to get romantic when his stress was high. He was looking for an outlet. “Lance, you don’t have to feel bad about what happened when you were corrupted. I still enjoyed myself. Don’t force yourself to do anything-” Keith admit

“I don’t feel bad. I will never feel bad about making you feel good.” Lance slid a hand up Keith’s side. “I just want to love you.”

“I don’t doubt that you love me.” Keith touched Lance’s cheek. “What is it about me that’s different?” On the ride to town, Keith caught a few of the man’s long adoring glances. Not to say it felt unpleasant to be stared at like that, but it was strange. 

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure why it feels this way. You just seem softer now.” Lance shook his head and smiled a little. Again, something tugged just at the corner of his consciousness, but he focused on the fingers on his cheek. “Maybe it’s because you have your mansion back and mine’s still sealed. I don’t know.”

“So now you want to worship me?” Keith touched his nose to Lance’s. A smile brightening his face with a chime of laughter in his voice.

“I always worship you. I’m just not sure I’m giving you all you deserve.” Lance felt his cheeks warming up at their contact. Keith’s laughter made the last of his worries fade. 

“And what do I deserve?” Keith felt the childish giddiness in his chest again. Lance was painfully adorable at times. “Maybe, you’re the one who should be worshiped.” Keith dragged a finger down Lance’s jaw. 

Lance’s eyes began to close. “O..Oh yeah?” He couldn’t help the squeak that came to his voice. Keith wasn’t normally so loving and gentle, and it made his chest hot, burning away the last of the corruption and impurity that lingered there. “How would you worship me?” He asked, his voice a soft whisper. It was a sincere question, not at all the kind of sexy taunting he might have normally let out.

“I wonder.” Keith’s finger stroked over the line of Lance’s blush. “What do people normally do when they lay a gift before the Azure Dragon? Prayers?” Keith kissed his cheek. “Offerings?” He kissed the other cheek. “A sacrifice of some kind?” Another kiss to his chin. “Or I could keep kissing you and spoil you with all the love I have to give.” He kissed Lance’s lips sweetly and gently. 

“Nnn…That…last one sounds like the best one.” Lance moaned a little as he kissed Keith back. “Your kisses, your love…those would be the best gifts.” His eyes darkened a bit and he slid his hand from Keith’s side down to his hip.

“Well good. I don’t have any priestesses and I’m fresh out of virgins.” Keith stuck his tongue out, his eyes sparkling in lieu of a smile.

“You already gave me the only virgin I’d ever want anyway.” Lance grinned a little, but it soon shifted back into a loving smile as he pulled Keith closer. “I don’t need anything but you.”

“I suppose I did. A few times.” Keith thought about it. He arched a brow. “Just a week or so ago I believe. Not many people get the same virgin twice.” He wrapped his arms around the slender man. “You have me. You’ve always had me. Since the day you were dreamed into existence. I’ve been yours.” 

“Oh? So you were mine that day you tried to kill me?” Lance chuckled and leaned in for another kiss. “And even before I really knew who you were?” He smiled and held him a little closer. “Are you saying you were made for me before I was made for you?” 

“We’re part of the same sky.” Keith kept his fingers moving over Lance’s back, paying extra attention to his scales and sensitive sides. 

Lance shifted. It was getting pretty difficult to hold Keith and stay calm with those touches. “Hm. That is true,” he whispered, closing his eyes and letting Keith do whatever he wanted.

“We were never made for each other.” Keith rubbed his leg over Lance’s thigh, hooking it around him. “We are of each other. I’m part of you, and you are part of me.” Keith looked down as he interlaced their fingers together.

Lance watched him, and his body arched to press as close to Keith as he could. “Nnn.” He looked up at him with dark eyes, but he smiled, and there was a faint blush on his cheeks. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said.” 

Keith leaned in to kiss those pink cheeks. “When I’m with you, I feel whole. My world and everything around it is made of shades of you. I just couldn’t find the words to say it until now.”

“I won’t be able to handle it if you keep melting me like this.” Lance’s cheeks went from pink to deep red, and he looked up at him. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this much of your love, but I’m thankful for it.” He turned his head a little so he could kiss Keith’s lips, lingering for a moment before his eyes half closed. “Let me love you…Please.”

“You already do. More than you know.” Keith kissed Lance back. His eyes remaining open to watch the subtle changes in his lover’s face. “But I’m selfish and want you to love me more.”

Lance kissed him again, using the moment as a distraction to move his body and flip Keith so his lover was beneath him. He smiled after the kiss, his eyes still barely open as he looked down at him, and his face still completely red, though now it had spread to his ears and neck. “Well, I will always love you more and more with every passing day, but I meant…” He slid a hand down Keith’s chest. “Let me love you like this.”

Keith let out a soft gasp when Lance switched their positions. The sudden motion caused his world to spin. When he settled he flickered his eyes up to Lance’s face than back down to the caramel hand on his chest as he ventured down causing the god to whimper when it touched a pink peak. He felt the sensation pull like a sting connected to the most intimate part of him.

“Is that okay with you?” Lance knew Keith wanted him just as much as he wanted Keith. But his hand slid down over his stomach and stopped just before he touched his lower abdomen. He kept the touches light, almost teasingly so, but with just enough pressure to keep Keith from thinking it was being insincere.

Keith sucked in his stomach when Lance pressed his fingers there. The reaction embarrassed and startled the fallen god. He’d never done something so virginal outside of those months when Lance had just started to learn what it meant to make love to someone. “Yes.” He whispered, his hand holding Lance’s.

Lance smiled and allowed his fingers to continue their descent to Keith’s heat. He didn’t touch him yet. Instead, he relished in each little squirm and gasp that came from the slightly smaller man. “I love you,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss him, his lips trembling a bit against Keith’s as he finally touched him. 

When the touch came, Keith gasped sharing a breath with Lance. As the brown colored hand moved, Keith never raise his voice to cry out or scream for more. His begs had become soft mewls, and his growing desire showed in quickening rise and fall of his chest.

Lance’s eyes opened more so he could see Keith better. He smiled as his fingers slowly moved over his heat, and he made each movement slow and deliberate. “You’re so beautiful…”

“L-lance…” Keith tried to complain but a little spike of pleasure titled his head back, his eyes starting to close as the flush on his cheeks slowly got darker the more heated his blood became.

“How am I supposed to ever last a moment without you?” Lance moaned as he moved himself and licked Keith’s now exposed neck. “You make it impossible to think about anything but you.” His fingers slid down to the base of Keith’s heat and back up to his tip. 

“Ah, nnm.” Soft sounds and pleasured sighs escaped the celestial’s lips. Keith bit down on them and the petal pink flesh slowly pulled free, starting to swell and darken. The change more obvious against his milky flesh.

Lance kissed those swollen lips with a such tenderness, it was almost as though he thought his own lips might bruise Keith’s delicate skin. His hand continued to move, lavishing Keith’s heated flesh with gentle touches. “Do you like how I love you?”

“I.. ahh…” Another timid gasp broke Keith’s sentence and derailed his thought. Thinking had gotten too hard. A sudden blinding rush of pleasure hadn’t fogged his brain, but the slow build left him unable to focus on anything else. He could feel each of Lance’s fingers. Every grove of his knuckle, every dip of his finger, even the deep line down the center of his palm became a distinct note of ecstasy. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Lance whispered, letting his lips brush along Keith’s jaw. He shifted a little, wanting to draw it out, and so his kisses trailed down his neck and along his collarbone. Each one feather-light, and an almost agonizingly slow press of his lips.

Keith voice broke into a tiny pitch, as his hand slipped up around his lover’s arms and threaded through the back of Lance’s hair. He felt like he was floating. Every gentle touch felt more intense than the rough man-handling he experienced days before. Those few days spent locked away with Lance helping him deal with his inner demons had been about taking Lance’s world back. He needed to take back everything that was his; order, security, and Keith himself. All things stolen from him in the worst possible way. Today was different. Today felt like about warmth and gentleness. Keith would not complain. Lance had never hurt the smaller god. The dragon would never have recovered if it were the case. Keith enjoyed sex. He had the blood of a hot-blooded male, and sex felt good, aggressive sex or slow gentle sex. It all felt good to Keith but in different ways.

Lance continued those kisses down Keith’s sternum, stopping just over his heart and resting his head against his chest, trying to listen to his heartbeat. It was faint, but it was fast, excited, and yet somehow full of love and warmth. He placed a kiss to the center of Keith’s chest and began his progression downwards. 

“Lance.” Keith whispered his lover’s name as though it were a breath. When Lance’s lips came to the toned groves of his abs, he sucked in his breath again, this time holding for a beat or two, and as he turned, he exhaled a delicate mewl into the pillow. 

Lance shuddered at the sound of Keith’s pleasure. It was like each honeyed drop of sound made his love deepen for the other god. He slowly kissed around his navel when his eyes caught sight of a finger-shaped bruise on Keith’s hip. “I was too rough with you, wasn’t I?” He whispered, sighing softly. “This won’t do.” And with another soft exhalation, he gently kissed that angry red mark, the warmth of his healing magic transferring from his lips to that flesh, fading until only pristine porcelain skin lay below.

Slender hips trembled. They wanted to move and twist but managed to stay skill, Keith only moaned into his free hand. His other knotted in Lance’s hair. Those very fingers tightening with the feel of the dragon’s power melting into his skin. Hot and cold. All sensations of adoration and filled with every emotion Lance had ever blessed him with. 

Eyes, shining like the twilight, rested upon the top of Lance’s sandy brown head. Even in the darkness they saw the strands of blond and gold mixed inside of the darker threads. The longer locks of his bangs hung down and tickled Keith’s skin just as he let out another sucked in breath. “You’re beautiful.” The words came out without thought and as naturally as the most obvious thing in the world. His fingers trailed down from Lance’s hair to touch the smooth golden skin of his forehead and caress over the perfect slope of Lance’s nose.

Lance lifted his head to look up at Keith as he began to touch his face. “Eh?” He asked and blinked. “Me? You mean you, right?” He smiled and moved his head so he could kiss Keith’s questing fingers. “But I still have more of my previous indiscretions to correct.” He kissed Keith’s fingers once more before he lowered his head and continued healing each little bruise. 

“Indiscretions?” Keith sighed then purred as another of those warm tingles vibrated in his body. “I don’t remember complaining.” 

“But I marked up your perfect skin” Lance moved down and pushed one of Keith’s thighs so he could kiss the bruises on that tender flesh.

“Aah!” Keith’s head fell back to the pillow, a knuckle between his lips. Slowly his legs spread for Lance, laying open for him see the dotted bruises on his flesh. His body begging for what his lips wouldn’t say as his breathing got faster. To either side of Keith, bright crimson wings started to materialize. First from the glowing motes of light then into the solid down of his open wings. The colors Lance bequeathed him shone brighter in their hues of emerald and sapphire. 

Lance continued to heal Keith’s thighs as his hands slid up and rested on his hips, holding him steady. After a few more restorative kisses, Lance let his hands fall from Keith’s body, his fingers stroking those vibrant gem-hued feathers, treating each one with such care, it was a wonder he wasn’t afraid to touch them.

“La...ance…” Keith’s wings opened against the bedspread. He watched in dazed fascination as Lance stroked them as if each quill were a delicately crafted jewel. 

“Hm?” Lance lifted his head to look up at Keith, though he was still positioned between his legs. His fingers twitched carefully against the feathers beneath them.

“Thank you.” Keith whispered. “For loving me.”

“Eh?” Lance’s brows furrowed. “What else would I do if I didn’t love you? Why are you thanking me? I don’t deserve it…”

“Because no one else could love me the way you do.” Keith’s blush darkened, his gaze traveling from Lance’s fingers to rest upon his face. “I’ve never been easy to love or to care about.” He touched the Dragon’s cheek again. “I know I’ve put you through a lot. You make me feel more with just a look than I could feel in a thousand life times on my own or with anyone else.”

“You are easy to love and care about,” Lance said as he turned his head and kissed Keith’s fingers, smiling a little. He rested his hands on Keith’s hips again as he pulled his own body up so he was face to face with his lover. “But only because you’re mine. It’s easy for me because I can’t exist without you. I can’t imagine ever living without loving you. I loved you the moment I saw you.”

“I know. I felt it. It was like a shock running through me, and I knew all I was and everything I would be, belonged to you.” Keith leaned up to kiss Lance. It was sweet, languid, and an invitation for him to taste. When he pulled away, he kept hold of one of Lance’s cheeks. “It terrified me.”

“You were scared of me?” Lance’s hands twitched a little against Keith’s hips. He felt something clench in his chest, but he did his best to force it back down. “I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be. It was the first time I felt something like that. It confused me, and it made me curious. That’s why I kept letting you come around, and the rest?” Keith kissed the tip of Lance’s nose. “The rest, you are intimately aquatinted with.” 

“Am I?” Lance relaxed and the clenching in his chest disappeared. He looked down at Keith and studied his face. The way his lips moved when he spoke. The way his eyes almost seemed to shine when he looked at him. He wasn’t sure what happened when Keith took his mansion back, but whatever it was, it made his lover seem more, well, lovely. He shook his head slightly and leaned in, giving him a soft kiss. “Well, I don’t think I deserve the kind of love you give me, but I won’t let you give it to anyone else, either. I’m too selfish for that.”

“Be selfish. It’s a dragon’s nature.”

“You’re not supposed to encourage my bad habits, you know.” 

“Oh please, I’ve been encouraging them for most of my life. I spoil you rotten.” Keith nuzzled his nose into Lance. “I’m your empress aren’t I?” Keith gave a cheeky little grin. 

“You are.” Lance smiled a little and touched Keith’s cheek. “And I don’t think you spoil me rotten. I’m not rotten, am I?” He kissed him.

“Mmm.” Keith all but purred with Lance’s kiss. “You taste sweet.”

“I don’t know why you think so.” Lance’s eyes began to close. “I haven’t eaten anything that sweet. It must be because of you.”

“I love you. That might be why.” Keith licked at Lance’s lips then kissed him once more before he laid back, and stared up at up at him with heavy lidded bedroom eyes.

“I think that it’s just because you’re perfect.” Lance leaned down and kissed him, pressing himself closer to Keith and rubbing himself against him.

“Lance,” Keith whispered his lover’s name. His voice husky and low. Filled with slow building need, the tone accented his words with desire and building heat. 

“Yes Keith?” Lance knew what his lover needed. He needed it too, and he proved as much as he shifted his hips and pushed himself into him, his hands resting on that pale waist.

The gasp leaving Keith lips sounded like the most delicate of whispers. His head bent back over his pillow in another slow arch, his breath now held as Lance pushed his length into Keith’s welcoming body. His nimble fingers searched for and wrapped around Lance’s wrists.

Lance kept his hands on Keith’s waist as he steadied himself and began to move his hips slowly, each movement drawn out as much as it could be before it drove either of them crazy. He kept his eyes on Keith’s face, his own cheeks flushed as he looked for those tell-tale signs of pleasure.

A lick of swollen lips, twilight eyes turning to night, a flush spreading over flesh too pale to hide it all, signs of Keith’s euphoria. His bit-down nails dug into his lover’s wrist. It wasn’t hard or anything meant to cut or harm his lover, but it was a pressure. A release for his body as the rest of him floated on sensation. Lance’s painfully slow pace had their bodies melting into each other. Keith’s toes curled up with one particularly deep thrust.

Even though that tight grip of his wrists would normally cause him to move faster, Lance made sure to keep his pace slow. He moved deeper, trying to fill Keith with as much of his heat as he could. “Ah…I love you.” He managed to moan out.

“Lance,” Keith panted, turning his head up to Seiryuu while his hands slid up his dark bronze arms, appreciating every touch and quiver of the lean archer’s muscles as they flexed under Lance’s control. They continued to move over his smooth shoulders and up either side of his neck. He pulled the taller god down to him and closed his mouth over his. He savored the taste of Lance’s mouth, letting his thrusts move and rock Keith’s body to higher points of this slow burning ecstasy.

Lance moaned, letting the sound get lost in Keith’s mouth as his hips continued their gentle motions. He slid his hands from Keith’s waist to his hips so he could grip him better and keep his movements steady. 

“Lance, nnm… I’m close.” Keith’s grip was gentle but strained. “With me?” 

“I will.” Lance somehow managed to get the words out between moans, but when he felt Keith topple over that edge, he went with him, letting out what seemed like a never ending moan.

Keith didn’t scream out or hungrily thrust his hips down on Lance. Instead he arched, getting filled by his lover. He knew every part of Lance’s pleasure, and basked in his own. With trembling lips and closed eyes, Keith’s climax left evidence between their moving stomachs. His deceptively strong steel tightened arms kept Lance against him.

Warmth completely enveloped Lance as he came down from the precipice of his pleasure. Keith’s heat seemed to surround his whole body and hold him so close that even his soul felt his lover’s feelings for him. It was more than his body and mind could handle, and so it manifested in tears that slid down Lance’s cheeks. He remained inside Keith, unwilling to pull away just yet, and he smiled despite the thin crystalline rivers that cooled his burning face and dripped off his chin.

“Hey,” Keith leaned up and kissed those falling tears. Their taste lacking the typical salt of human tears. Instead they were made of the purest rain water. “What’s wrong?” He whispered against his ear holding in a gasp as he adjusted his hips. His sensitive insides moving over the part of Lance still deep within.

“Nothing is wrong,” Lance whispered, even though the tears wouldn’t stop. “I just love you so much.” He whimpered a little when Keith shifted. “I never want to be apart from you.”

“We’re working on that never happening again.” Keith licked a trail of tears from Lance’s face. “We’ll get your next mansion. Then it’s just one more. No matter what happens we’ll be together until the end.”

Lance slowly pulled himself from inside Keith. He nodded a little, careful of the other man’s head. “I know. I just couldn’t contain the feeling anymore. I’m just that happy like this with you.” He kissed Keith’s lips and managed a tiny smile.

“Ah!” Keith gasped, closing his knees at Lance’s side and curling into him when he pulled out. “T-that’s okay.” He looked up at the other god. “I want you to know how much I love everything about you.”

“Do you?” Lance smiled again and whispered, “will you show me?”

Keith traced Lance’s lips with his fingers. “Is that what you want?” Keith purred, and he pressed his hand against his chest. “Lay back and I’ll show you everything.”

Lance nodded and kissed Keith’s fingers before he shifted and laid back. He looked up at him, the tears still sliding down his cheeks, but he was smiling up at him. “I love you.”

Keith smiled, “I had an idea that you might.” A devil glinted over his angelic expression as he slipped his leg over Lance. His toned thighs closing on Lance’s slender hips. He sat up giving Lance a full look at his masculine form. Defined abs, firm flat chest, and a narrow waist gave no false impression that he was anything but male. Despite all that, there is a tenderness to him. A softness visible in the hard sharp edges of his fit body. 

Lance stared up at Keith, his cheeks pinking at the view of his only love sitting over him like that. “O…only an idea that I might?” His lower lip stuck out and he felt the tears fall faster. Was Keith teasing him? Was now the time for it? “You…don’t definitely know that I do? I haven’t proven it?”

Keith blinked then smiled, leaning over his lover. “I was being playful.” He nuzzled his cheek kissing those tears again. “Don’t be sad, of course I love you.” 

“I know you love me, but do you know I love you?” Lance sniffled a little. “I’m sorry I’m so stupid sometimes.” He lifted his hands and gently touched Keith’s cheeks. 

Keith turned his head to kiss his fingers. “You love me. You love me so much it hurts you sometimes. Don’t apologize.” Keith took Lance’s hands in his own, kissing each palm before placing them against his chest as he leaned back up. He pushed them down over his stomach then around to his sides where he left them. 

Lance’s fingers twitched against Keith’s warmed skin and he nodded a little. When Keith affirmed that he knew how much he loved him, the tears dried up, and he managed a little smile again. “Loving you doesn’t hurt. Not being able to protect you does. Not being able to see you does. But loving you never hurt me.”

“Your tears?” Keith rubbed his hands down Lance’s arms. 

“They weren’t tears of sadness or pain.” Lance shifted beneath him. “I’m just so overwhelmed with emotion, they came out. I went from feeling nothing when I was…that thing…to feeling everything all at once.”

“What are you feeling now?” Keith tilted his head, thick black locks falling to one shoulder, leaving the other bare. The ivory skin nearly glowing in the filtered moonlight. His wings laid back behind him, covering Lance’s legs. 

“Hot.” Lance’s hands moved over Keith’s hips, but he did not lift them yet. Instead he pushed his own hips up so Keith could feel his heat. “I need you to love me.”

“I do.” As Keith spoke he pushed his body down on Lance. Taking him inch by inch until he was sitting fully on him. A shudder traveled up Keith’s spine and released as a moan. But he wasn’t done yet. He pulled himself up to Lance’s, then pushed back down just as slowly as before. 

The dragon’s body arched with an almost unnatural fluidity when Keith’s warmth surrounded him. Any words Lance would have said were lost in his throat, replaced with the moans that came out instead. His fingers pressed into Keith’s hips as though that would keep him from losing himself in the feeling of love his precious bird was showing him.

There was nothing hurried about Keith’s movements. Every push was as slow as the first, letting Lance feel him. His wings lifted and spread out casting an aura of golden light over the pair. “Lance.” Keith mewled his lover’s name, using the strength in those flexed thighs to keep lifting then lowering on him, until at last he let himself settle, blissfully impaled on Lance. 

“I…ah!” Lance’s eyes started to close from the pleasure, but he kept them open enough to look up at Keith, tears once again sliding down his cheeks, which now flushed a deep red. “K…Keith!” How was he supposed to handle it when he felt everything so intensely?

“Is it too much?” Keith whispered with thick honey in his voice. Lowering his chest down he moved on him, shallow but slow, adding a grinding roll to his hips as he kissed over Lance’s neck and jaw. His hair dropping forward to tickle the flesh in the wake of his lips.

“Y—you’re never too much.” Lance arched again and closed his eyes, his hands sliding over Keith’s hips and down his outer thighs before sliding back up again. “I…I’m…” He moaned once more before his climax came over him, causing his body to twitch beneath his lover.

“Nng…” Keith gasped when he felt Lance grow then finish inside him, the sensation of his lover’s pleasure pushing him over that edge, but instead yelling out like his body wanted to, he bit down on Lance’s shoulder. His straight teeth not strong enough to break the Dragon’s skin. 

“Ah!” Lance’s hips bucked at that bite, though they had nothing left to give Keith in the moment. He couldn’t help it. The feeling of Keith’s teeth against his skin brought out some primal feeling within him. But as he felt the last of Keith’s heat hit his stomach, he sank back to the bed and looked up at him with pleasure-glazed eyes. 

Keith pulled off Lance with a delicate whimper against his ear, but he laid his head back down against his shoulder, his wings settling down and encasing them in soft cinnamon scented down. “How are you?”

Lance smiled, his movements slow as he shifted to make himself more comfortable for Keith. “Amazing…happy. Loved. You?”

“Feels like I ran a marathon.” Keith smiled, chuckling softly then nuzzling his shoulder. “Love. Amazing. Feeling like we’re the only people in the world.”

“Right now, we are.” Lance kissed Keith’s head and closed his eyes. “Right now, you’re the only one I need. Tomorrow, we can go back to everything else, but tonight, don’t make me think about anything other than you.”

“I’m only yours.” Keith indulgently spread out over Lance and nuzzled his face into his neck. “I love you.”

“I know.” Lance closed his eyes and rested a hand in Keith’s hair, gently stroking the ebony strands. “I belong to you, you know. I can’t live without you. I couldn’t before, but now I definitely can’t. I won’t survive it. So never leave me. Never stop loving me. No one else can love you the way I can.”

“I don’t want to be loved by anyone else. So that makes it easy.” Keith folded his fingers into Lance’s, blinking when he felt the tug of his ring. He smiled and brought his hand up to kiss over both their fingers and the gift Lance had given him all those nights ago.

“Does it?” Lance smiled at the small symbol of his adoration. “Does it feel strange?”

“Hm? No.” Keith laid his head back down on Lance’s chest. “Like I’ve had it all my life.”

“No. I didn’t mean the ring.” Lance smiles and nuzzled Keith’s hair. “I meant having a mansion back when I don’t have mine yet. Do I feel weird to you because of it?”

Keith closed his eyes, long lashes coming together in swooping curls, when they open again he’s staring up at Lance. “I don’t feel weird. There’s just something…” The god blushed a little, his expression conveying the tender mystery he held since the moment he absorbed ‘well’ into his body. “Something you’ll understand when you get yours. Do I feel weird to you?”

“Weird? No. Softer and more...understanding? I guess a little.” Lance watched Keith’s face. “You blush more easily. You move a little more sensually. None of it is bad. I just wonder if it’s because you’re more whole than I am, and I can’t help but feel like I’m disappointing you in some way.”

“More sensually?” Keith shook his head. “Well I AM older than you. You may have gotten a physical form faster but I’ve been around longer.” Keith was careful with how he spoke. It wasn’t in his nature to tell a lie, but the history the last mansion revealed to him wasn’t one he could share. At least not yet. He wasn’t sure about everything else Lance told him. “Do I seem more feminine then? Is that what you’re saying?” Keith arched a brow. It wasn’t an insult to him. Not really. Gender wasn’t something he fixated on. Gods were not like humans. Sure, some had preferences based on aesthetics. Keith, for one, preferred to look at the male form but thought there was beauty in the female form as well. Lance liked both forms as long as they were Suzaku and tended to be male more often than not because of Keith’s own preferences. If Keith seemed more effeminate at a random time, that was simply a facet, but one all but lost in the last 400 years. “Well” was part of that side of him. It made sense that its reemergence would awaken those aspects. 

“You don’t disappoint me.” Keith cupped Lance’s cheek. “I’m just more of who you made me to be.” 

“I didn’t mean to imply that you seemed more feminine, no.” Lance nuzzled his cheek into his hand. “I guess I’m overthinking it. Maybe something’s wrong with me.” Given Keith’s response, he just assumed this was a weird side-effect of having his corruption cleansed. Maybe Keith was hyper-aware of it, and was just trying to keep Lance from going down that darker path again. “I’m not complaining. I feel like you’re trying to take extra care of me, and I don’t want to cause problems. Not after what happened to me last time.”

“Well, you were sick. In a sense. It’s perfectly normal for someone to take extra good care of the person they love after they were sick.” Keith tightened his fingers into Lance’s. “Can you guess who taught me that?”

“Well it had to have been me because the rest of our friends are pretty crappy at caring for the sick.” Lance smiled a little and settled again, feeling a little calmer with the squeeze to his hand. “Plus…I’m the one that can heal. Kind of ironic that I couldn’t heal myself when I needed to.”

Keith shook his head. “That kind of illness is my specialty. I wanted to do it. You healed my body, my head, and my wings.” He laid his hand against Lance’s heart. “The least I could do was heal your soul.”

Warmth came to Lance’s cheeks once more, and he smiled. “My soul belongs to you, so thank you for taking care of it.”

“Repayment for the heart.” Keith nuzzled his nose in. “Now we just need a brain and a cowardly lion.”

Lance shuddered a little. “No thank you. That movie was too weird for me.”

“Look at our lives, and it’s flying monkeys that weird you out?” Keith’s brow arched up again but humor shimmered in his eyes. 

“Monkeys should not fly.” Lance shuddered. “They’re trouble enough as it is…” He pouted a bit and looked at Keith. “The whole thing was creepy. Don’t tell me you liked it?”

“I liked the songs. Over the Rainbow by that one Hawaiian guy is nice.” As Keith spoke he played with Lance’s fingers and tried not to be overwhelmed by how normal their conversation was. 

Lance arched a brow. “Is that all.” He chuckled a little and nuzzled his hair. “I’ll accept that.”

“And something about just wishing on a pair of slippers to get home…” Keith nuzzled his face into his chest and wrapped that hand around his body.

“I’m sorry…” Lance sighed and closed his eyes. The guilt from their situation started to creep up, and he had been doing so well at keeping it down. “I never meant to take you away from there…”

“That’s not my home.” Keith whispered. “Here is.” He laid his other hand on Lance’s chest. “I got my wish.”

“Oh.” Some of the guilt left, but there was still a little tug at the corner of his mind. “I guess that’s not so bad then.” Lance smiled and nuzzled Keith’s hair. 

“No. It isn’t.” Keith yawned, his wings fluffing up a bit then shaking out as he cuddled himself in closer, his weight getting heavier against Lance as he settled in.

“If you’re tired, you should sleep.” Lance shook his head a little and held Keith as close as he could without crushing him. “I won’t go anywhere.”

“Nmn..m.” Keith was out in seconds, is breathing deep and heavy. 

Lance sighed a little and looked up at the ceiling, watching the way the lights from outside the RV shone through the blinds and lit up parts of the ceiling. His hand continued to hold Keith’s, letting the other man move and curl in however he needed to as he slept. And Lance knew he should sleep too. They had a long drive in the morning, but he just couldn’t relax just yet. Not when too much was on his mind. The guilt from earlier was weighing on him. Not just because he pulled Keith from heaven, but all of these people who got involved because of them. The guilt over Nizha was the worst, but it was also a different kind of guilt. He was a friend, though he was more of a friend to Keith than anything else, but he had been nice to Lance before. They had never had a reason to dislike each other. And yet, Lance didn’t feel guilty about the demigod’s death. He felt guilty for not feeling guilty, but he didn’t feel sadness he should have felt. He couldn’t. Nizha had made that impossible when he kissed Keith in front of him.

So he felt like a hypocrite for being so hurt about Yue Lao’s death. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. And as Lance closed his eyes, he felt another tear slide down his cheek.


	15. Where there be Dragons?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Keith pulled on the winch rope attached to the fender of their rented ATV. “That should do it.” Weighing more than Lance, Keith figured if he could swing from the rope, they could lower Lance down into the swirling cauldron of the Devil’s Kettle with ease.

The Devil’s Kettle was a well-known natural phenomenon on the Minnesota North Shore. Located a little over a mile from where the Brule River entered Lake Superior, the mysterious water fall split the river into two parts. One half of the Brule continued from the falls to the mouth of the river, while the other half fell into a cavern where the water simply vanished. Scientists have been intrigued by the falls for years and never figured it out. They’d thrown in ping-balls, dye, and all manner of testing devices, all of which were never seen again. Recently, some scientific groups thought they had an idea, but the findings had yet to be officially shared. 

Keith watched the water crush into the rocky void. Brule’s current was strong, and with the foamy white stream crashing into the rocks, Keith wondered why people were shocked by the disappearance of objects thrown into the falls. The Devil’s Kettle water pressure was high enough, and it could turn most objects into dust, thus making it too dangerous to lower a person into the cavern below. Yet here they were. 

Keith walked over to Lance and laid a hand on his shoulder, smearing the beading water on his jacket. Winter might be on the wing, but it was still damn cold up here. Naked dark trees blew in in the wind. Their frozen branches crunching and raining bits of snow and chipped ice around them. “You sure about this?”

“Well what else can I do?” Lance looked away from the churning water to look at Keith. He had a hard time sleeping last night, and his exhaustion showed in his expression. Exhaustion and pain, sadness, and even a little hopelessness. “I’ll be fine down there.” He looked over the edge again and stared down at the water. Even with the pressure, there was nothing that water could do to him, but he also wasn’t sure he wanted to go alone.

But then again, he couldn’t risk Keith like that, so he was conflicted. “He’s down there… I can feel it,” he whispered, reaching for Keith’s hand. “Though I’m not sure what I’ll find down there.” He was scared, but he didn’t want to admit it. He knew Keith would understand.

Keith scanned the area, noting their friends were out of earshot. “I know.” He whispered to both what Lance said and what he didn’t. “I’ll go with you. It might be a little hard on me, but I can make it down there. “Remember Jiulong? Compared to that? This is nothing. Sort of. Maybe. I’m pretty sure I’ll be okay.”

“But…” Lance wanted to cling to that offer, he really did. He knew he shouldn’t. “Just…just wait up here for me.” He looked at him, and he knew he was trembling a little. “I don’t think I want you to see me when I find him.”

Keith watched Lance and moved to hold his hand inside the pocket of his jacket. “You don’t really mean that.” Keith kept his voice soft and spread warmth from his body into their hands. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“That I don’t want you to see me a mess? I do mean that. I don’t want to be alone, but I don’t want you to see me break down either.” Lance looked at Keith, clutching the hand in his pocket so desperately, it would be a wonder if he could ever actually let go. “I also don’t want you to get hurt. I can only protect you so much from the water.” He didn’t even want to think about Keith getting injured again because of him.

Keith stepped in front of Lance. His black hair whipping around his face in a mess of wind swept waves and tricolored highlights. His hands lifted to the dragon’s cheeks cupping them. “If that’s what you truly want. I want to be there for you but,” Keith got up on his tip-toes to press his forehead against Lance’s. “If you need to do this for yourself, I understand. But if I think you’re in trouble, I won’t hesitate to evaporate this whole damn river and come screeching in there after you.”

“I feel like I need to do this.” Lance rested his hands on the ones on his cheeks. “You’ve done so much already, and I can’t ask you to keep putting yourself in harm’s way for my sake.” He leaned in and placed a kiss to Keith’s forehead, then his cheeks, then his lips. “I will be okay.” 

“Promise? I’m not the only one waiting for you.”

“I promise.” Lance kissed him once more before he let go and grabbed the rope. “Trust me.”

“I trust you.” Keith stood back, blinking when caught by Shiro’s arm. He turned his head up to the square jawed man and understood the last part of their nonverbal communication. It was if Shiro thought Keith would dive right in. He’d admit to being reckless but not stupid. Pidge yelled the all clear and Keith’s ears perked to the sound of grinding metallic gears and metal rope. He swallowed and looked back to Lance’s eyes. “See ya in a bit.”

Lance nodded and watched them as he was lowered into the cavern. Once he lost sight of them, he sighed, and as his body hit the churning water, he changed. His horns grew from his head, glowing a faint blue and lighting up the cavern enough to see the rocks. His scales covered his neck, moved up his jaw, and covered his nose. Two fins sprouted where his ears had been moments before. He closed his eyes as he finally submerged in the rough waters. 

As soon as his head was under, he opened his eyes, a thin film covering them, but not hindering his vision. He used his tail to propel him deeper into the water, his horns glowing brighter. The water around him was practically black, and he would have shivered if he hadn’t attuned himself to it. He could feel it pushing against his skin, trying to crush him, but his body pushed back, letting the water know who was king.

When he got to the bottom of the cavern, his feet landed in the dirt, rocks, and crushed remains of anything that had been tossed inside. And yet there was one large stone that remained unmarred by the pressure, not scarred by erosion. It seemed to shimmer in the faint glow of his horns. He rested his hands on the stone, now-webbed fingers running over the smooth, almost opal-like surface. It seemed to disintegrate at his touch, the pristine form of Yue Lao floated before him. If he hadn’t been surrounded by water, the tears would have flowed freely from his eyes.

He bowed over the form of his former mentor and friend. He closed his eyes as he began to devour the body, each moment tender and reverent. This was the only meal he would savor, out of respect to the one that now filled his belly. No drop of blood spilled. When he finished, he sank to the cavern floor, fists clenching and pounding on the rough sand.

He wasn’t sure how long he remained down there, mourning the loss of his dear friend, but it couldn’t have been longer than twenty minutes when he felt his mansion make its presence known. The processes had been immediate before, but they had all been pieces of his body. This one, winnowing basket, was his essence. His position as a fertility god. A sharp pain of realization came over him and he knew: he had to get back to Keith.

Lance pushed himself up from the cavern floor, his tail pushing him through the torrent to the surface of the water. As he surfaced, his horns vanished, his scales receded, and his fins shrank back down to normal, human ears. He grabbed the rope and tugged, so the others knew he was done.

Keith paced along the rocks, his chin in hand and his arm across his waist. He felt the air shift followed by a tug came to the line. Lance had it. Lance had taken back his mansion. The sensation hit Keith as a vibration in his chest and drumming in his ears. His mouth went dry and his stomach twisted into tightly knotted coils. He had to move his hand down to clutch where ‘well’ burned against his flesh. Seiryuu knew. Keith turned toward the opening of the Devil’s Kettle, his heart speeding up with every crank of the winch.

Lance clutched at the rope, the hair soaked, clothes drenched. As he was lifted, he tried to steel himself for what was to come, but there was no preparing for this. As soon as he could see Keith again, he widened his eyes, a fresh set of tears overflowing and sliding down his cheeks. He didn’t even wait for the winch to pull him up completely before he propelled himself off the rope and practically tackled the other man, his knees on the ground, his face pressed into Keith’s stomach as his hands clutched the back of his jacket tightly. He sobbed, full, body-shaking sobs, that were both an acknowledgement and an apology.

“Shhh.” Keith’s stroked his fingers through Lance’s hair. His own tears far more subdued. “I know. It’s okay.” He spoke with slow calm words like a parent easing the fears of a child. Shiro and Pidge started coming forward, their expressions conveying fearful concern. Keith waved them down and held his lover closer. 

“You knew…it must have been so painful.” Lance managed the words between sobs. He couldn’t stop the tears, nor could he keep his body from trembling as he kept clutching the back of Keith’s jacket. “I’m so sorry you suffered alone.”

“You were still with me. I wasn’t alone.” Keith bent down to kiss the top of his head. “You’ve been so gentle and loving with me. You might not have known but you felt it.” Keith kneeled to be level with Lance. “How could I suffer when you took such good care of me?” 

“Still.” Lance looked at him through his tears. He let go of Keith’s jacket only to rest trembling fingers on his cheeks. “I should have been even better to you.”

“You’re always just what I need.” Keith placed his hands over Lance’s to ease the tremors. 

“I…” Lance looked at him, and for a moment he had such pain and loss in his eyes, but then he closed them and nodded. He breathed evenly for a few moments before he opened his eyes again, which were now clear. “So…We should tell them we know, shouldn’t we?”

“Hunk knows I’m aware.” Keith leaned up and kissed just below Lance’s eye lid. “Shiro doesn’t know anything. I don’t know if he was ever made aware after he told us what to do.” 

“He couldn’t have been told. Hunk took it from us to protect all of us.” Lance slowly got to his feet and pulled Keith with him. “So they couldn’t find it…”

“And that’s why they couldn’t help us before.” Keith sighed eyeing the other two. “We can go now or wait until we’re somewhere we can talk about it.”

“Then we should wait until we get somewhere.” Lance took his hand and managed a little smile now that everything was settling into place. “It would make them more comfortable, probably.”

“There’s a diner in town.” Keith folded his fingers into his. “I saw it on the way in. Hunk would like it, I think. I’m starving.” 

“Then let’s go there.” Lance held Keith’s hand and slowly walked to the others. 

“You’re okay! Good good! Keith was pacing so much I’m surprised there isn’t a hole in the ground.” Hunk smiled a little, and it was clear the yellow dragon was relieved.

“Yeah, but it took a lot out of me. I need coffee, and everyone should eat. Keith says there’s a diner in town.”

“Score! I’m in!” Hunk grinned. 

“Once we get everything loaded in the truck. We got that stuff on rental.” Shiro said, hopping over a few rocks with the rope over his shoulder. “And as the only one with a viable credit score, I’d like to return it.”

“Dibs! I get to drive it back!” Pidge waved her arms in the air.

“No fair!” Hunk yelled after her. “I did the work! I should get to play!”

“How old are you two?” Shiro sighed as Pidge jumped onto the ATV. 

“Three.. thousand? Maybe? Lost track around the BCE CE conversion somewhere…”

“Hunk, you always use that as an excuse.” Pidge sighed.

“Well it’s a good one. I mean why the hell did they count backwards anyway?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. She wasn’t going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole.

\-----

They got to the diner a little after sundown. It was one of those standard roadside truck stop treasures everyone knew about that was famous for something. This particular place had a Banana Fosters French Toast doughnut the size of Keith’s face. 

Keith sat down beside Lance, his shoulder leaning against his, smiling as Pidge and Hunk drooled over the five face-sized breakfast platters set in front of them. Even Keith’s stomach growled. 

“Eat.” Lance murmured to Keith, his hand resting on the other man’s thigh as he watched the three other gods. Of course Pidge and Hunk would look like they were in food heaven, and of course Shiro would try to look more composed, but it was clear he wanted to stuff his face just as much as the other two. “Please. It’s been a long few days, and it’ll be easier to discuss the next step if we’re all satiated.” 

Hunk didn’t need another invitation. He dug right into his plate, his eyes almost seeming to glaze over as he mmmed over each bite.

Keith ate, matching both Hunk and Pidge bite for bite, until he couldn’t possibly handle another yyrupy ounce. He laid back in the wooden repurposed church pew of a bench, his hand over his stomach. 

Lance took a few sips of coffee, which he normally did not drink, but for some reason really felt like he needed. He watched the four of them eat. Three of them shoveling, one of them eating hastily, but not with the same gusto as the others. And during that, he took a few small bites of his food before he nudged the plate to Hunk, who happily finished it for him.

He gently patted Keith’s thigh and waited until they all mimicked the food-baby pose. He wanted to make sure all of them had really finished before they talked.

“So, this next step?” Shiro was the first who was able to speak. He looked at Lance and Keith, his expression far too innocent for someone of his age.

Lance shrugged a little and looked right at Pidge. “We want our egg.”

Pidge didn’t seem surprised by the request. On the contrary she appeared to welcome it. “I figured.”

“Your egg?” Shiro arched a brow. “What do you mean? Keith?”

Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “D-do you remember, Shiro, when Lance and I came to you? It was a few months after my first,” Keith’s cheeks went pink. “my first heat. I had an egg.”

Shiro’s face paled. “The one you promised me you’d get rid of?” 

“Yeah. That one. Well I, I couldn’t. We couldn’t. The night I laid it, I felt it’s heart beat. I heard it move. How could I?!”

“You knew how dangerous it was for you and everyone involved! And you still-!?”

“You weren’t there!” Keith yelled in whisper.

“Because you hide everything from me! Damnit Keith! Both of you!” Shiro ran a hand through his hair, trying to regain his calm. 

Lance shook his head and gently squeezed Keith’s thigh in support before he leaned in a little. “Shiro, you can be mad at us all you want, but we could not destroy it or abandon it. We…protected it. We absolutely overstepped our bounds and asked Byakko to take care of it, and then we asked Kouryuu to remove our memories of it, so no matter how they tried, they could not take it away from us. To them, it wasn’t even a thought.” 

He sat back again and sighed. “Our child has our strongest mansions inside of it. We used them to protect it and seal it, so it could not be born into a world where its parents were exiled. That’s why when they stole Keith’s and sealed mine, they could not find the seventh.”

Shiro looked up at Keith and the silent look of pain nearly killed the younger god. “Shiro I-” the black god turned away from Keith leaving him wounded and too timid to speak up again. Only Genbu could ever silence Suzaku with a look.

“So, we get them back, and this is done?”

Pidge looked between Shiro and Keith. “In theory.”

“And the egg will hatch then?” Shiro continued.

“We believe so,” Hunk nodded.

“And then we go out to fight a battle that will most likely kill us. And leave a baby defenseless.”

“Shiro!” Keith bolted up but flinched at Shiro’s ice filled glare.

“And what would you have had us do, Shiro?” Lance sighed and shook his head. “You wouldn’t have let Hunk erase your memories, so we had to keep it from you.” He slid his hand from Keith’s leg to take his hand, squeezing it gently. He sighed again. 

“If you have such little faith in us, you should go and stop involving yourself with us. Is it going to be easy? Of course not. We’re going to struggle. And maybe we don’t get out of it unscathed, but if you’re going into this thinking we’re dead, then what chance do we have? If you have such little faith in us, then why are you still here?” Maybe it wasn’t the nicest way to ask, but Lance was annoyed. Shiro had been with them up until the reveal of their child, and now he was hurt, and angry. Lance understood, of course he did. But they needed Shiro to believe in them. Without them all together, they were as good as useless.

That metal hand crunched shut. “I’m not sure any more.” Shiro’s come back was hard and laced with an arctic cold Keith had never heard directed toward him before. With it, Shiro pushed up from the table and stormed out of the diner, the bell chiming wildly behind him.

Keith stared forward. Numb. 

Lance frowned and watched the elder god storm out of the diner like a petulant child. He knew he pushed a little too much, but he couldn’t just sit there and let Shiro scold them the entire time. He shook his head a little and squeezed Keith’s hand before he climbed out of the booth and followed him, though he was much nicer to the door than Shiro was.

“Hey. Take it out on me. Not Keith.” He called after him. 

“Go back inside Lance.” Shiro’s command was stiff.

“Why? So you can stew out here and get angrier and hurt him more? No. If you’re going to take it out on someone or something, take it out on me. Now. Get it over with.”

“I’m not fucking around Lance! Get back inside.” Shiro snarled. Thunder cracked nearby and Shiro’s whole six foot five inches and nearly 200 pounds barreled into the dragon’s lanky frame. He pinned the younger god to the ground. More cracks of thunder filled the night, accompanied by flashes of silver sparkeds with each echo. “Sonovabitch!”

Lance didn’t even have time to react when he was knocked to the ground. “What the fuck?”

“That’s why I told you to go inside! Idiot!” Shiro ground his teeth as metal bullets continued to bounce off the air around him. Every ping of a high velocity impact surrounded the duo in a silver black glow of iridescent hexagons similar to a turtle’s shell. A golden light radiated from Shiro’s eyes as the older god looked around the open parking lot, an early April snow flittering down like angel feathers.

“How the hell was I supposed to know if you weren’t clear!” Lance frowned, but his own eyes shifted, blue seeming to glow as his pupils elongated. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know. Does it matter!? Bad guys, okay?” Shiro covered Lance tighter, wincing as a shot grazed his shoulder. “I can’t get a clear view of them and I can’t teleport to what I can’t see.” Shiro snarled. “How’s your arm, sharp shooter?”

People screamed in the restaurant as a ricocheted bullet shattered tempered glass. Shiro saw the figures of Keith and Hunk huddling over Pidge. There was always an impulse to protect the thing smaller than you. While Pidge was capable of looking out for herself, it was her lot in life. “I’ll keep drawing their fire. You take cover and take them down if you can.” 

“Don’t worry about me.” Lance reached up and touched Shiro’s shoulder, healing that wound before he slid out from other the older god and glanced around. “You just tell me where to shoot.” He moved then, almost disappearing into the snow as he manipulated the water in the air around them. 

“I just told you I can’t see them!” Shiro scowled under his breath as he stood up, dodging behind a car and throwing a shield up for a stray mortal running for cover. 

Streaks of golden light whizzed above Shiro’s head. Sparks rained down around the northern god. His head darted around the parking-lot, finding Keith perched atop of the one-story dinner, dark wings with magma rivers lighting the stem of every feather. His hand was held out in front of him and a glow erupted from his palm, then all around Shiro the parking lot and the neighboring buildings were lit up light the midday sun. Each streaking feather blew up into a flash of light. It lasted only a second but enough for Shiro to get the positions of his targets.

The god disappeared into the darkness. In seconds the parking lot erupted into demonic screams.

Lance’s ears twitched at Shiro’s words, but he had already moved too far away to reply, so he stayed hidden, frowning when the sky lit up. His ears twitched again and he turned his head to the left. The shadowy figures were moving towards the building, but they were no match for the silver arrows that pierced their necks. He saw more movement to the right. This time it was a human, running towards their car, but there was another shadow there. Another shot, another hiss, and it was gone.

“Fuck.” He muttered and looked around. There was no way he wanted to make this easy for those monsters to try to pick people off. So he glanced up at the sky, and the small, delicate snowflakes started falling faster, and heavier. It caused the people in the diner to stay inside, and that was what he wanted.

But Keith also seemed to be dealing with some other shadows trying to enter the diner, and he seemed to be so focused on keeping them out, that he didn’t notice one climbing up on the roof. So Lance ran, shooting an arrow that burst through the shadowy figure and caused it to shriek and explode. 

The figure of the bird was obviously startled at the screech. Realization dawned on him and he threw a flirty wink over at Lance. Keith enjoyed the fight. Always had. He’d get excited and his cheeks would flush, but not out of arousal. He wasn’t messed up to those levels (not yet), but the adrenaline and the sudden feel of his lover’s power in the air thrilled him.

“Focus.” Keith scolded himself. He heard Hunk’s grunt and Pidge’s battle call of ‘Jerk Face is mine!’ Smirking, he hopped from the roof, his black blade slicing down the spine of another monster.

Lance couldn’t help but chuckle at Keith’s wink and at Pidge’s almost cute battle cry. And as soon as Keith’s feet hit the ground, Lance replaced him on the roof, once again cloaking himself with the snow that swirled around them. 

His eyes found Shiro, slicing through monsters as if they were butter. He shot one out of a tree, preventing it from sneaking up on the elder god, though he knew Shiro would have been fine. He picked off several more that were coming in from the other side of the diner, growling until the horde seemed to let up and finally end. 

The chaos settled and the snow eased. Keith came out of the diner, black blood smeared on his cheek, dagger held limp in his hand. A tiny bundle swaddled against his chest. “Lance.” A small plea in the bird’s voice. “I can see it.”

Lance’s eyes widened and he took the bundle from Keith, a soft silver glow surrounding it until it let out a soft cry. The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he gently rocked the baby. “The mother? Is anyone else hurt?”

Keith’s head lowered when Lance asked about the mother and he just shook his hair. “We should take him to the hospital.” His fingers just barely brushed Lance’s. Pain laced the gesture, and Keith took a moment to steel himself before turning to face the group. “Alright, we should get out of here before anyone else gets hurt by these idiots. Pidge, you get a snapshot of the assholes so he can get a better look and figure out who they are. We need to bring the fight to them.” He put iron in his voice forcing his back to stiffen, the dragon and the tiger nodded and hopped in their vehicles. Even Shiro seemed compelled to bend to Keith, or humor him as he got to his truck in time to hear sirens start in the distance. 

“Lance, bring the baby. We’ll take him to the local country hospital and meet up with everyone later.” 

Lance sighed and nodded, still holding the bundle in his arms before he looked after the others as they drove off. He shifted the baby to cradle him in one arm so he could take Keith’s hand, and he gently pulled him to the RV, getting him inside. “You sure you want to take him? don’t want to leave him with one of the ones inside?” He glanced out the window, seeing the flashing lights moving in the distance.

With a gentleness Keith didn’t know he had, he took the child up in his arms as he sat in the passenger seat, his arm hooked under the bundle, supporting its weight. “I want to take him. I know the family information.” The ghost symbol while dull, still glowed on his hand. His eyes, softer then Lance had ever seen them, watched the blanket wiggle and coo. 

“All right.” Lance hopped into the driver’s seat and started up the RV. As he pulled out, he could see the first of the emergency vehicles, so he narrowed his eyes a little. The scales on his neck appearing momentarily as he pulled over, allowing them to pass, not that they could see them anyway. When it was clear, he drove to the nearest hospital and parked, looking over his shoulder at Keith. “Do you want me to go in with you?”

Keith looked up at Lance, a small hand gripping his finger. “We can both go.”

“All right.” Lance managed a little smile. “Let’s go then.” He stood and rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith stole his breath before he got out of the RV, the baby held firmly in his arms as he walked up to the emergency room. The glass doors opened sideways, allowing them entrance. It was a quiet night, and no one else sat in the waiting room. Keith smelled fresh coffee in the air and could hear the low joking chatter of the staff. With a sigh he laid the baby down on the administrator chair with a note and family information by the sleeping child’s head. 

He rang the bell and jumped back into Lance’s arms knowing the dragon would hide them while the reception and support staff tried to figure out what had happened.

And Keith was right. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, and there was enough moisture in the air for him to shield them from anyone’s view so Keith could watch the baby be taken in safely without being seen.

When everything settled and the coast clear, Keith nudge Lance out the door with lowered eyes. His arms hugged tightly around himself. “I… do you think it will be okay?”

“Yes.” Lance kept an arm around Keith as they walked out and back to the RV. “You saved that baby. He’ll be fine.”

Keith pressed his side against Lance, enjoying the feel of his body against his own. “Yeah. I… hope so.” 

Lance helped him into the RV and pulled him into a hug, kissing his forehead. “You did. And now we have to meet up with the others so we can see our baby, don’t we?” He smiled a little. “That might make you feel better.”

“Ours.” Keith’s cheeks flared and familiar giddiness danced in his stomach.

“See? It’s already making you feel better.” Lance smiled. “Let’s meet up with them.” He started the engine.

Keith sat back in his seat, the flush still on his cheeks. “It feels like the first day all over again. Remember when we found out?”

“I do now that I remember everything.” Lance smiled as he drove. “You were completely adorable that day too.”

“Adorable!? How so?” Keith straightened his back and turned his whole body toward Lance.

“Oh are you trying to seem like you’re not blushing like crazy at the thought that we made a child together?”

“Well no! But.” Keith blushed even darker. “It was my first Heat! I didn’t know what was going on. It.. I … I wasn’t expecting that to happen! I didn’t even think it would happen! I mean… Gargh!” Keith huffed and crossed his arms, his lower lip protruding.

“I didn’t either…” Lance glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “If you say it like that, it sounds like you’re regretting it. Though you’re still adorable when you huff and pout.”

“I could cross my eyes and stick my tongue out while flipping you off and you’d still think I’m adorable, or cute.” Keith sighed. “I never regretted it though.”

“Well no, it’s not cute if you flip me off. The rest, yes.” Lance smiled a little and glanced at the ping on his GPS before looking back at the road. “Really? You don’t? I mean neither of us knew, right? But it was a good thing after, right?”

Blushing even darker Keith turned his head out the window. “Anything we do together… I don’t think I could regret it.”

“See? Adorable.” Lance chuckled a little. “I don’t regret anything, even the bad things, because we went through all of that together in some way, even when we were apart. And now we’re together, and we’re staying together. I can’t complain.”

Keith’s ears turned another shade or two darker. The passenger window started to fog up, and a pale hand reached silently out to touch Lance’s resting at the center consul. 

Lance grinned a bit. “Was that too much? I won’t say I’m sorry because I like making you react, but I’ll stop for now.” He pulled into the parking lot the GPS directed him to, pulling to a stop where the others were waiting. “Do you want me to just talk to them while you calm down?” He turned to Keith and smiled, then lifted his hand to touch one of his red cheeks.

“You’re enjoying this.” Keith nuzzled Lance’s palm. “If you can give me a minute. I’d appreciate it.” 

“I am enjoying this.” Lance grinned as he pulled his hand back. “I’ll wait out there for you so I won’t keep embarrassing you.” He quickly kissed Keith’s forehead and slid out of the RV.

Shiro came to Lance first, looking the younger god over before tension left his broad shoulders. “You both okay?” He repressed his earlier anger keeping his voice calm. Shiro knew it wasn’t a good time to rehash their argument. 

Pidge came out next. “Is Keith okay?” She nodded toward the figure in the RV. “He looked a bit shaken up when you guys left the restaurant.”

“Well yeah, that was a lot of violence and stuff. Of course he’d be shaken up! I was shaken up!”

“Hunk, stepping on an ant shakes you up. Keith isn’t as delicate as you.” Pidge rolled her eyes. 

“He’s okay. I’m okay.” Lance nodded and glanced back at the RV. “He just needs a moment, but he’ll be out.” He looked back at the others, but then turned his attention to Pidge. “It’s safe, right?”

She nodded and stuffed her hands into her pockets, half leaning against Hunk once he took his place beside her. “It’s perfectly fine.”

Lance nodded and relaxed a little. “We should probably keep this somewhere, it’d look too obvious if I drive it to wherever you’re going to tell us to go.”

“Yeah, it’s not the most inconspicuous of vehicles.” Pidge laughed, and her eyes softened a little when Keith came out of the passenger seat. “That last mansion really did something for you. You look better.”

“You noticed that too, huh?” Hunk walked over to Keith and wrapped a thick around his slender shoulders. “The guys are all almost back to normal! I never thought I’d see this again!”

Keith gave small but good hearted laugh for Hunk and his spirits seemed to lighten until he saw Shiro. His eyes curtailed to the ground at the older god’s feet.

Shiro sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look. I’m sorry. I got a bit knee-jerk at the diner. I was mad. But I had a right to be. You both lied to me. What you kept was dangerous for all of us.” Shiro looked like he was struggling. “What you kept is the reason they knew. It’s what they wanted from the beginning. I didn’t know it was still alive. I would have said something sooner.” 

Lance shook his head, opening his mouth to protest something about how Shiro should just blame him, but then he said that last bit, and he blinked. “What…do you mean by that?”

Hunk closed his eyes. “You don’t remember everything yet. And you won’t until you get it back. But… It was never about you two actually being together. I Implanted that memory.” Pidge reached up and smoothed her small hand over his huge arm even has tears welled up and dripped down his cheeks. 

Keith started forward. The urge to comfort the gentle dragon became overwhelming. Hunk is the kind of guy who should never have to cry. His tears, were heart breaking. 

Shiro continued talking out of kindness for Kouryuu more than anything else. “You can’t hide something like the pregnancy of a god. For all you tried to. Running around in your male form became a regular thing. Your colors changed, your everything changed. Suzaku become something entirely different than what he was. You guys tried to hide every aspect of it. We all did what we could. But did you really think the high lords wouldn’t know of the creation of another god? Least of a Yu Di? Not just a demi god. But a true god made by the elements? Fire and Water are the two most volatile elements known, what do you suppose their child would be like? The power one could wield?” 

Keith swallowed and leaned into Lance. “I still don’t get it. They were after…”

“Right. They were after ‘it’. You told me you destroyed it, but they came after you anyway. Hunk had already wiped your memories. So, you two were clueless? No wonder either of you withstood the torture.” Shiro folded his arms across his chest. 

Lance remained quiet throughout. He tensed as he thought about the words Hunk and Shiro said to them, and he frowned. “…Just tell me, since we don’t remember everything, did we ask you to make memories for us, or did you decide to do that on your own?” He did his best to keep his voice soft, since Hunk was already distraught.

“No! No…I wouldn’t…” The larger dragon shook his head. “You asked. And you’ll remember that, but when you came to me, you already knew they at least suspected you created life. So you really wanted to make sure that there was no way you could be tapped into revealing it.”

“So we told Shiro it was destroyed on purpose…so they would at least think that?” Lance’s shoulders slumped a little, and he looked over at him. “Sorry’s obviously not good enough, but I am sorry for setting you up like that… We must have thought if you honestly believed it was true, then they would take it for what it was, since you are who you are.” He bowed his head. 

“I’m not cold enough to ask you to destroy your egg just because. I was hoping…” Shiro shook his head. “It was unreasonable, I know that. Part of me is actually glad you didn’t.” Shiro walked over to Keith and pulled the dumbfounded god into his arms, his grasp nearly swallowing the bird whole. 

“What were you hoping?” Lance watched him carefully. His hands twitched a little at his side now that Shiro had hugged Keith and he had nothing to hold on to, so he stuffed them into his pockets and waited.

“That it wasn’t a life yet. That the egg was still just an egg.” Shiro took his liberty to the limit and gently nuzzled the fine hairs at the top of Keith’s head. “I should have known better then to ever demand something like that from either of you. I was scared.” He let go of Keith and walked over to Lance, pulling the tall god into an embrace similar to which held Keith. 

“But that was my problem. I should have tried to help you. Not hurt you.” Shiro stepped back from the blue dragon. “ I’d spent so much time watching you all come into your own. I should have been more concerned with that than how to hide the evidence.” 

Lance stumbled a little at the hug since he wasn’t expecting it, nor was he expecting to be let go so suddenly either. “Well it’s not like you were trying to hurt us. You were trying to protect us. It wasn’t the best way to do it, but the thought was there right?”

“Who can really say any more.” Shiro shook his head.

“And all that about the notebook?” Hunk asked.

“All those names become moot if they got their hands on the egg. Those monsters tonight were Yu Di’s inner circle.” Shiro supplied leaving the circle in a moment of silence.

“I want to see it.” Came a soft voice.

The group looked around at each for a moment as if they weren’t sure who had spoken or if anyone had. 

“I want to see it.” Came the voice again, and this time all eyes landed on Keith. He stood there, pulled in to himself, looking the part of the awkward young adult. His arm hung across his waist as he held his elbow. His head faced forward, while his eyes stared down to the side. He seemed listless and almost aching. “I need to see it.” 

Pidge slowly nodded. “Then let’s just leave the RV here and all go in the cars…” She finished wiping Hunk’s tears and just turned to walk towards the other vehicles.

Lance reached out and rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder, concern crossing his features. “Keith? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just… the longer we just talk about it, the longer it waits for us.” Large eyes focused up on Lance. 

Lance nodded and took Keith’s hand, gently leading him after the others and helping him into Shiro’s truck. “As long as you’re not in pain or anything.” He climbed in after him and settled into the seat.

“No. I’m not. Just tired. Very tired.” Keith whispered. 

“Why don’t you get some shut eye. It’ll be a few hours before we made it to their house. I’ll wake you when we get to the border.” Shiro said as he turned the key and the old F150 rumbled into life. 

“Yeah.” Keith laid his head on Lance’s shoulder, his eyes closing. “Sounds like a good idea.”

Lance shifted and wrapped his arm around Keith, holding him against his side and kissing the top of his head. “We’ll be there before you know it.”

It only took fifteen minutes. The soft whispers of Keith’s breathing were dampened by the rumble of the engine but Shiro could tell by the steady rise and fall of the bird’s chest he was sound asleep. “How is he?”

“He’s as okay as he can be in this situation. Scared, probably. Definitely unsure about a lot of things, but he seems to be trying to spare me from worrying about him too much.” Lance spoke softly, keeping his arm around Keith as he watched him sleep. “And he’s terrified of you being angry at him, so please, when you feel anything like that again, direct it solely at me. I’m afraid he’ll break and I’ll lose him otherwise.”

“Oh come on. You give me too much credit. He’ll be fine as long as he has you. He’s strong. He doesn’t need me as much as you all think he does. But you.” Shiro shook his head. “You were the one that made the difference in him. You know that. I was content with the status quo. I didn’t know he could be different. You did. You saw it right away and made it happen.” 

“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” Lance sighed and glanced at him. “Shiro…I know how important I am to him. I know how much he needs me around, but… if anything happened to you, he wouldn’t be able to survive it. So please stop shortchanging yourself, and if you treasure him, keep yourself alive.”

Shiro blinked a few times. “Well don’t kill me off yet. I think there’s a few more centuries left in this old body.” He moved the mechanical fingers to prove a point. “Takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. Wasn’t that the slogan? Well I guess the those watches still had two hands.” Shiro grinned wolfishly at Lance. 

“I’m not the one who was so pessimistic earlier. You were.” Lance chuckled softly and looked out the window for a moment, watching the trees blur by before he looked back down at Keith. “Pidge did a good job with the new arm then?”

“Yeah. She replaced it pretty quickly after the last one got damaged. It’s certainly an upgrade.” Shiro over at the two nuzzled gods. “Why don’t you get some rest too, I can feel the heat he’s giving off from here, it must be making you tired.”

“I can’t sleep in a moving car.” Lance shook his head a little. “If it’s too much for you, I’ll cool it down so you don’t get tired.”

“I’m okay. I’m used to it. Mila was a furnace too.” A fond smile curled Shiro’s lips.

“Mila?” Lance blinked, but when he saw that smile, he understood. It might be better not to talk about those sort of things, at least not during such a tense time. Unless Shiro wanted to talk about it. But he wouldn’t really pry. “If you’re comfortable, then okay.”

“When I first came to New York I met someone. You could say we came off the boat together. I was lucky enough to call her my wife, for a time.” Shiro went silent as a signal for the end of the conversation.

“So the arm works great then huh?” Lance wasn’t an idiot, and he knew when to drop a subject if he had to, so he looked out the window and stared at the whirring scenery.

“Yeah, better than I could have hoped.” 

The drive continued with off and on conversations. A break at border into Canada as the three gods gave their identification and passed through customs without issue aside from dealing with a grumpy groggy Keith who managed to not insult anyone’s mother and guarantee them all a rather uncomfortable cavity search. 

After another short drive, Shiro pulled onto a long the Ontario highway. Shiro slowed the truck down. It looked as though they were in the middle of nowhere, deep in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but trees and foliage as far as the eye could see, which wasn’t very far given the thickening of greenery. 

“Be it ever so humble guys!” Pidge smiled as she hopped out of the car. The space in front of the gods shimmered as the smallest god walked forward. “Come on! I got a lot to show you!” She took Shiro by the hand, forcing him to walk with her. 

Keith lounged back with Lance, staring up at his dark Cuban features before taking his hand. “This is it. Huh?” 

“Yeah.” Lance held Keith’s hand and started to walk, tugging him a little so he wouldn’t lag behind. “Are you ready for this?”

“How could I be ready?” Keith sighed and gripped Lance’s hand as they walked through the shimmering wall. Keith would love to have said he was surprised by what he saw, but when it came to Pidge and Hunk nothing shocked him.

Keith and Lance found themselves on the threshold of a modern style castle. Curved white towers reached four stories up and met flat white painted brick and fiber glass walls. Black self-tinting windows lined the walls and at the top of each tower appeared a 360 degree circle of the same glass. “If Microsoft and Apple had a love child…” Keith whispered as he stepped inside of the house.

The inner foyer was impeccable, but tasteful. Despite the high-tech computer monitors hanging like paintings on the wall, there was the warmth and welcoming nature of a loved college dorm. Bean bag chairs and Christmas lights used about the main rooms, obvious it was all about comfort not entertaining.

“Coran! Begin protocol ‘Welcome Package.’” Pidge stood at the top of a landing like a tech giant Evita; charming the crowd of circuits and lights.

“Welcome Protocol?” Keith looked at Shiro then to Lance.

“Yes yes right away!” A jovial British accent filled the room and across the monitors a red haired man appeared to walk toward them as though they were reflecting an image of the center room. But the man wasn’t there in real life. 

“Where are you looking?” ‘Coran’ spoke again and Keith pointed to himself. “Of course you. Who else is staring into empty space. Come come.” Keith blinked and hurried over to the monitor.

“State your name.”

“Keith.”

“State your other name.”

“Suzaku.”

“Lean forward. Stare wide.” Keith obeyed without question.

“Suzaku retinal scan complete.” 

“What the hell?” Lance was already wide-eyed at the appearance of the man in the monitors. The intelligence only made him stare. And now he was just completely dumbfounded. “Pidge? What…is going on?”

“Nothing crazy. This is just my A.I.” Pidge smiled softly.

“A.I.?” Keith blinked at Coran. Who blinked back. Of course.

“Artifi-”

“I know what it is!” Keith cut Pidge off. “but why?”

“Well, smarty pants.” Coran started. “Master Pidge and Hunk are often gone so they needed someone to look after their very valuable treasure.”

“You mean…”

“This whole place is a fortified vault for one precious object.” Coran continued. “And I believe it’s yours.”

“You... it’s here?” Keith’s voice hitched. 

“Nothing crazy, just my A.I.” Lance was muttering under his breath as though he was annoyed at being mocked when he heard Keith’s voice change and he looked up from the spot on the floor he was inspecting. “Wait, what?” 

Keith blinked over at Lance. “Our…”

“You. Here. State your name.” Coran looked at Lance.

Lance looked over at the monitor, completely perplexed, and he opened his mouth to say something, but the sound never came out because Hunk pushed him forward to stand next to Keith. 

“Do what he tells you, Lance. It’ll be fine.”

“But…I don’t…” Lance started to turn his head to look at Hunk, but those big, warm hands grabbed his face and turned it back to the monitor.

“State your name.”

“S…Seiryuu.” Lance yelped a little as Hunk pushed his head forward, his eyes widening at the movement.

“Seiryuu retinal scan complete.”

“What the hell Hunk?” Lance swatted at the hands when they finally let go. “Are you trying to break my jaw or something?”

“Welcome Package Complete. Initializing Stork Protocol.” The image of Coran flickered and stuttered before it became clear again. “Please follow me. Master Seiryuu and Master Suzaku.” Coran started to walk through the monitors. Keith kept looking in the center of the room where the man should have been according to what the screen’s showed, though he knew better. 

“He’s taking us to it?” Keith looked at Pidge and she smiled softly.

“Go on, follow him. We’ll stay here. Give you guys your space.”

“Pidge… I…” Keith started toward her.

“Go on.” The tiger goddess looked away, hiding the tears in her eyes. “You’ve waited long enough. Go.”

Keith looked to Seiryuu and took his hand before he started to follow the image in the monitors. 

Lance’s hand was cold, and he seemed a bit pale when Keith grabbed him, but he stumbled after him. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this nervous. Had he ever been this nervous? Was he going to pass out from the light-headedness? Or was he going to collapse because his stomach felt so heavy? “I…Is it okay?”

“Quite okay, actually.” Coran’s voice echoed down the corridor. 

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, taking a breath when they entered a huge room filled with scanners and beeping machines. 

“We’ve kept it at a stable temperature of the past decade and since my creation I’ve been monitoring it for anomalies. Brain function is limited, but that is to be expected in this stage. Heart rhythms are strong and have maintained.” Coran’s voice got softer and he even appeared to be looking at the medical equipment, picking it up and putting it down in the monitors. 

Keith stepped further into the room. “T-there.” In the middle of the room, a cylindrical device turned and a foggy tinted window hissed as it lifted up. Blue and pink satin sheets shimmered over the softest looking pillows Keith had ever seen. And in the center, it laid. Like a precious amethyst gem, scaled along the side and shimmering to the top, the colors fading to a vibrant pink. 

Lance quickly moved, grabbing Keith to prevent him from falling as his legs seemed to wobble with each step. His eyes locked on the egg, and he slowly helped his lover move towards it. “There…” He whispered. “It’s…It’s really there.”

“And right as rain, all things considered.” Coran’s voice chimed. “Of course, it has been in stasis so long, it will probably hatch with relative ease with its parents’ warmth.”

“P-parents.” Keith’s voice trembled. “Lance, we’re. We’re going to be. We ca-can’t, I…” Keith allowed Lance to push him closer to the gilded bedding. Tears came fast and quick down his flushed face. His hand reached out toward the beautiful precious gem they created. His other reached back to Lance’s chest, terrified and trembling. 

He touched it. His body ignited the room in a bath of warm light. Wings, as transparent as glass, spread out from Keith’s back. They filled with every color in the spectrum before the feathers died down to a solid state. The character for ‘wings’ glowing on the center of his back and burning its image into his shirt. Keith’s hair grew longer, thick ebony waves cascaded over his shoulders as all seven of his mansions burned to life on his body. 

Eventually the riot of lights died down and Keith was holding the egg in his arms, against his chest. He turned toward Lance looking up at his lover with loyalty and dedication steeped in millennia of love. “Seiryuu,” He whispered, his head bowing in reverence as he lifted the egg up with the tenderness only a mother could bestow. “Heika.” 

Lance trembled as he watched Keith absorb that final mansion, and his own tears spilled down his cheeks as he watched his love become whole once more. Just a simple touch could be the end of a lot of their struggles, and yet he was scared. Of course he was scared! He had been strong for Keith moments before, so he needed to steel himself for this now. So he looked at Keith, then at the egg. “It’s…” A trembling hand reached out to touch the scaled surface. 

As soon as his fingers touched the now warm shell, the heat shot through him and knocked him back off his feet. He sat on the floor, eyes wide, his heart pounding in his chest so loudly he was sure the others could hear it in the foyer. The tears that had been falling from his eyes only came faster as his own mansions manifested. His scales appeared, light and iridescent like natural pearls. They almost seemed to glow as his tail curled around himself. His horns sprouted from his head, like two spiraled opals, every possible color reflecting in the light. “I…” 

Lance looked up at them and held his arms open. “Come…Come here. Let me hold both of you…” His expression was full of love. More than he had thought could have been possible.

Keith wordlessly came to Lance’s call, nuzzling his cheek with warm lips as he wrapped a wing around their bodies. The warm egg nestled between them. “We’re whole.”

“We are.” Lance whispered and coiled his tail around Keith. “You…should be able to fly again.” He smiled and nuzzled his cheek. 

Keith shook his head. “I don’t want to be out of your reach.”

“You won’t ever be.” Lance smiled and kissed him, whispering against his lips. “You remember, don’t you? I can take to the sky to be with you. Don’t let me be the reason you’re grounded.” 

“Mm, yeah, but I’m faster.” Keith grinned cheekily despite the tears still flowing down his cheeks. 

“Yes, well…” Lance kissed him again and held him closer, careful of the egg, not minding his own tears. “I can swim way better than you, so we’re even hm?”

“I’ll call it a draw.” Keith kept kissing the dragon’s lips, pulling away for a moment as he smiled. “You’re magnificent.” A gentle finger touched upon the swirl of one of those opalescent horns. “The most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.” The pale silver and iridescent tones stood in stark contrast to Lance’s dark flesh creating a breathtaking juxtaposition. 

“Then you should look in the mirror because you’re way more beautiful than I am.” Lance smiled, though his eyes started to darken at the touch to his horn. “Keith…Suzaku…” He kissed him and groaned a little against his lips. “If you keep doing that…” He glanced down at the egg, then over at one of the monitors, where ‘Coran’s back was to them as though to give them privacy.

“Ah, sorry.” Keith blushed and held the egg a little closer to himself, pressing closer to Lance. “I wasn’t trying to do anything. I just wanted to touch them.” He brought his other wing around letting the feathers stroke over the smooth scales of their egg. “We have it back… and I can feel it’s warmth…”

“We can make more warmth for it…” Lance murmured and nuzzled Keith’s jaw. A low growl started in his throat. 

“H-here?” Keith sighed, his breath wispy as Lance’s nuzzle forced his eyes close. “Seiryuu…” 

“Well no…” Lance glanced at the screen before he spoke up. “Is…there a private room we could go to? We….”

Coran coughed and nodded. “Back through the corridor we came from, up the stairs and to the right. I…will inform the others!” And his image seemed to run off, arms flailing, a little cloud of dust appearing behind him.

Keith watched Lance’s face. “And the egg?” he hooked his arm around Lance’s neck, and secured the egg against his stomach, knowing the dragon was about to pick them both up. 

“Obviously we’re taking it with us.” Lance smirked and picked them both up, his tail supporting Keith’s weight as he walked in the direction Coran had indicated. “So it can have our warmth.”

“I don’t understand.” Keith squirmed a little at the feeling of Lance’s tail tightening and moving over his body, the scales tugging up his shirt to expose his tender flesh to their touch.

“What don’t you understand?” Lance whispered. “It’s an egg. It can’t see what we do…” He growled a bit and grinned. “So I’m going to make you very very warm. And it will feel that warmth and maybe be closer to hatching.”

“I didn’t know that’s how dragon eggs worked.” Keith was alarmed by how little he knew about something that came out of his own body. “Though our egg would be different than dragons’ or birds’.” Keith hugged himself closer, already feeling his body heating up against the press of Lance’s scales and he moved his finger down to stroke over one while the rest of his hand still stabilized their precious cargo.

“Well it’s my first egg too, but don’t most creatures lay eggs in nests and then keep them warm?” Lance carried him through the door to one of the rooms Coran indicated, and he set Keith and the egg down on the bed, sliding his tail over his legs as he pulled back to go shut and lock the door.


	16. How to Save a Life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Lance’s eyes slowly opened. He assumed it was morning, since the faint scent of eggs, bacon, and pancakes wafted into the room. He had no intention of moving just yet, not while Keith was still sleeping peacefully in his arms, their egg nestled between them. He curled his tail around his little family, the scales no longer that iridescent white, as they had resumed their normal aquatic blue hues sometime during the middle of the night. 

He shifted slightly and nuzzled Keith’s hair, his hand resting on the side of the egg, feeling the warmth seeming to radiate from it, and he smiled slightly. This was it. This was all he ever needed. And now that he was whole, he was going to make sure it was incredibly difficult for anyone to take this away from him again. After all, dragons were very protective of their treasures and their young, and he was holding both in his arms. 

A smile played on the edges of Keith’s coral lips, his head cuddling into the egg’s soft scales as his arm tightened about it. A soft sing-song murmuring came in a gentle voice, but no words were spoken.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Lance whispered, nuzzling into Keith’s hair a bit more. 

“Mmm,” Keith’s voice purred. “I don’t want to be.”

“Then go back to sleep. It’s okay.” Lance smiled a little and held him a bit closer.

“And sleep through more of this?” Keith turned his head up. The light in his eyes shifted in iridescent waves of blue to deep violet, never lingering on one color too long.

“Oh? You like cuddling me and the egg that much?” Lance chuckled and kissed him. “Me too.” He smiled and lifted a hand to one of Keith’s cheeks. “But at some point we will have to get up and go down there, or they’ll barge in up here.”

Keith sighed out a light hearted curse, knowing Lance was right. Also, considering, the only thing keeping his modesty was the dragon tail coiled loosely over his hips. The placement of which, could only be described as indecent. Keith blushed a little. “That would be bad.”

“Yeah. I won’t be responsible for my actions if any of them see you naked.” Lance grinned a little before he kissed Keith’s forehead. “Let’s get washed up, and take this little one down to breakfast hm?”

“You’re naked too.” Keith arched a brow up at the dragon.

“And I’m not planning on letting anyone else see me naked. You already let Shiro see your butt.” Lance pouted. “You keep letting him see things that are supposed to be for my eyes only. Are you trying to make me jealous? Maybe you like it more when I’m rough and possessive?”

“He found me when I was created. When I was barely the size of finch hopping around on the ground.” Keith nuzzled Lance’s tail, kissing the scales. “I do like it, actually. When you physically show me how much you want me. I think that’s how this whole thing started.” Keith grinned and slid a languid hand over the tail around his thigh. “Last night though, that was good too. Reminded me of the night we made our child.” 

“But Shiro? You know you don’t have to worry about Shiro. We’re not like that. We’re close but never like that. He’s my family.” Keith smiled. “And he’ll be happy to be an uncle now.” 

“So you want to show him those things just because I don’t have to worry about him?” Lance arched a brow. “Should I show myself to Pidge even though you don’t have to worry about her?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Keith nudged Lance’s shoulder. “And Pidge would probably want to study you. Peel off your scales and clone you. Hunk on the other hand will spit-roast you.” Keith smirked. “I’m saying when it comes to the times he’s seen me, it’s been accidents. I never intend to let anyone see what’s yours. And I don’t intend to let anyone see me wrapped up naked in your tail like some Star Wars fantasy.” Keith arched a brow. 

“All I’m missing is a gold bikini. Though if Jabba looked like you, that scene might have been way different.” Keith purred nuzzling Lance’s cheek.

“Well please don’t ever compare me in any way to that giant lump of ugly mud again…” Lance pouted. “I’ll end up with self-esteem issues. And neither of us want that.” Lance slid his tail off Keith and tapped his nose. “So you should get dressed so another accident doesn’t happen.”

Keith laughed softly and stood up, but there was a moment of struggle as he let go of the egg. Obviously not wishing to part from it. “Will it be okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? We’re taking it with us. There’s no way I’m letting either of you out of my sight right now.” Lance smiled and picked the egg up. 

Keith nodded his head and spread his wings with a long arch, impressed that he was able to get them open that far without smacking into anything. “All right then.”

Lance smiled at him and hoisted the egg up a bit more, carrying it into the bathroom with him. “Let’s get cleaned up at least. You smell like I wouldn’t let you leave my arms.” He grinned, since that was true for the most part. 

“So I smell like sex. Is what you’re telling me?” Keith arched a brow up.

“Specifically my sex, but yes.” Lance grinned. “And I smell like yours.”

Keith started the shower and shrugged his shoulders. “And who’s fault is that?”

“Yours. Entirely. You licked my horn.” Lance smirked and set the egg down carefully before he started fiddling with the shower to get the perfect temperature for them.

“Lick? I did no such thing! I touched it. With a fingertip.” Keith poked Lance’s forehead. “Check your memory.” Keith pulled his wings back into his body as he stepped into the shower and sighed happily at the touch of the water. Something had to be said for high tech bathrooms. The mirrors didn’t steam up, the water came down around them like rain, and instead of it being a stall, the shower was completely open to a drain on the floor with an infinity bath set up against one of the tinted windows. They’d found themselves in a tower, and from their vantage point, the whole of the forest was visible to them. 

“Well after we came in here you licked it. I was able to control myself until then.” Lance pouted a little. “You touching it just made us come in here…” He watched him for a moment before he got into the shower with him. 

“Well, they were there. I couldn’t help it. Like you can’t help touching my wings.” Keith turned and started to wash Lance up, getting on his tip toes to lather his hair.

“I know. It’s because they’re so fluffy. And sometimes I can’t help licking your wings either.” Lance smiled and leaned down for him, closing his eyes. “I wasn’t complaining. I like when you lick me.”

“Or using your tail for… things.” Keith blushed a little darker as if feeling the appendage around his body.

“Yeah, but that’s because you really like it.” Lance grinned as he helped Keith wash up, ruffling his hair a bit as he shampooed it. He relaxed a little at how simple this was, and he cherished it because he knew it wouldn’t stay this way for long.

Keith heard the small trill building in his own throat as his lover moved his fingers through the ebony tresses. He also soaped up the egg as he held it to his chest. Keith didn’t believe he’d ever be allowed to be this happy. 

Lance chuckled a little and helped Keith stay steady as he carefully washed out his hair. “You’re really good at taking care of us. Thank you.” He kissed his forehead. 

“Eh?!” Keith cocked his head.

“I just wanted to praise you a little.” Lance kissed him and helped him finish taking care of everything. When they were done, he stepped out and grabbed towels, holding one open for Keith.

Keith walked into the towel, curling up when Lance wrapped it around his shoulders. The fact they could dry themselves hadn’t occurred to either of them. Keith sunk into the feeling of his lover’s arms and leaned his back against his chest. He’d give anything to have this moment last forever. 

Lance kissed the top of his head and whispered. “When this is all over, I will get us a nice cabin by a lake, so we can relax and just live like a happy little family.” He managed a little smile even as he pulled back to wrap a towel around himself.

“That sounds like heaven.” Keith almost whimpered when Lance let him go. 

“Anything you want, I will find a way to get it for you.” Lance smiled and finished drying himself off, holding the egg so Keith could finish as well. “We will be happy, Keith.”

Keith smiled softly, watching Lance hold their precious child. “Hard to top what I feel right now.”

“Well then that’s a challenge I will happily accept.” Lance smiled at him, cradling the egg. After a moment, he walked out of the bathroom and set their child down on the bed, humming a little as he pulled his clothing on.

Keith walked in behind him, kissing Lance’s shoulder as he passed. He figured he should have been more startled to see clothing ready for him in perfect sizes, but he shrugged on the black t-shirt, red leather jacket and jeans. He tied his hair back and laid down on the bed, curling around the egg. 

Lance tugged the baseball shirt over his head and smiled at Keith, just absorbing the happy scene before he shook himself out of the daze. “We should go downstairs.”

“I…” Keith pouted, not sure if his hesitation was due to his own sense of seclusion or if it was more. He wanted to find a place to go. He wanted somewhere quite, dark, and warm. He wanted to make a space to call their own, and make it perfect. Maybe this is what humans commonly called ‘nesting’. 

“What kind of toys do you get a dragon?” Keith sat up with their bundle sitting in his lap.

“I don’t know. Shiny things. What kind of toys do you get a firebird?” Lance touched Keith’s hair. “I imagine it depends, is it a girl or boy? Is it more like a dragon or a bird? Does it take after you or me?”

“A swing. A perch. Something like that, but there weren’t many babies in heaven.” Keith blushed and leaned his head into Lance’s caress. “All right I’m ready. We can go.”

“All right.” Lance smiled and waited until Keith got to his feet, when he rested his hand on his lover’s back. “Do you want to carry it or should I?”

“I’ll carry it. If it’s okay.” Keith felt like he was being selfish, but he didn’t want to let go yet. “Sorry.”

“Why? Did you do something wrong?” Lance smiled a little. He wanted Keith to know he wasn’t trying to take his place or anything. So he just guided the other man out of the room and down the stairs, following the scent of breakfast.

Keith walked beside Lance, his arms becoming more and more natural around the egg, but as the scent of breakfast wafted to his nose, his stomach rumbled. He swore he also heard the tiniest of grumbles coming from inside the gem stone shell as well. 

When Keith didn’t answer, Lance pushed the thought aside and kept following his nose. He led Keith around a corner and through some doors, smiling a little when he saw their friends sitting at the table. 

“I am sorry. Did you say something?” Keith blinked up at Lance as they walked through the last set of doors. He’d been uncharacteristically distracted. Sure he had a good reason, but it felt strange. 

“Seems everything went well then?” Pidge asked, moving a chair for Keith to sit down without him having to let the egg go.

Lance said nothing, he let his arm fall from Keith’s back so the other man could sit. He waited a moment before he sat down in one of the other chairs and looked at the food. 

Keith gave Lance a worried expression before he reached his hand under the table to take his. Had he missed something important? “Lanc-“

“So this is it?” Shiro walked over, his hand resting on the back of Lance’s chair. “I expected something, smaller? That looks about like an ostrich egg.” Shiro mussed up Lance’s hair. 

“Good job buddy.”

Keith crossed his legs on the chair, let the egg settle. Was the egg that big? Keith couldn’t remember laying it, but maybe that was a good thing. And why was Lance getting the credit? He had the fun part, Keith was the one who incubated it.

Lance pulled his hands back and swatted at Shiro a little when he ruffled his hair like that. “Why would it be that small if I’m a dragon? Do you think I’m little?” He arched a brow at the elder god. “If anything, don’t you think it’s too small?” 

“Well, Keith is a bird, so it would make sense if it was his egg. I mean I don’t think Suzaku would have handled the laying process considering your difference in types.” Pidge trailed off realizing what she was saying as she said it. Even back in heaven Keith and Lance’s species had been a sensitive topic for the bird, even though he was the only one who seemed to care. 

Keith shrugged his shoulders, smiling softly down at the egg in his lap. “I think it’s perfect.” He said the words softly, almost absently mindedly as though Pidge’s words had no bearing on him or his insecurities about being Lance’s partner. 

Hunk chuckled a little and nudged Pidge. “I think he was cracking a joke, you know.” He shook his head and made sure he put a plate of food in front of Keith. “You need to eat.”

Lance shook his head a little and glanced up at Shiro again before he settled back in his chair. “So...”

“So? Don’t ask me. This is your show. You guys have raised the stakes. The question is, do you fold, call, or go all in?” Shiro sat back down, eyeing Keith scarfing down the food before turning back to Lance.

“I mean, we’ve still got to fight. I just was hoping we could change the subject from the size of our egg.” Lance looked a little sheepish. “But…yeah. If they’re truly after our child, there’s no way we can back down in any way.”

“We’ll take them on. If that’s what the Jade Emperor really wants.” Keith looked up at Shiro, squeezing Lance’s hands as he licked bacon grease from the corner of his mouth. 

Lance slowly nodded. “I will kill him myself if I have to.”

“What’s left for us to do?” Keith asked, looking around the table. “They’re attacking us out in the open. Humans are getting hurt. I say we take the fight to them.”

Hunk sighed a little, but he nodded. “And that?” He motioned towards the egg. “It wouldn’t be safe for you to take it with you, but should we really leave it here?”

Lance sat back in his chair and looked at Hunk, then at Keith, then at the egg. “We should see if we can get it to hatch. If…the child is born and bonds with us, won’t it be harder for them to take it?”

Hunk pointed to himself. “You’re asking me? I’m not the daddy here.” 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Imprinting is the best thing you can do. Be around it as much as possible and be the first thing it sees when it opens its eyes.” Shiro looked to Keith. “You’re its kin. The bond will be unmistakable. And if you’re not kin, the bond would still be strong.”

“Then, we need to stay somewhere relatively safe until it hatches.” Lance looked at Keith. “Right?”

“That’s what it sounds like.” Keith pursed his lips to the side.

“Why not here?” Pidge put forward. “It’s virtually undetectable. You’re safe here, there’s plenty of room. And it’s a secluded wooded area. A needle in a haystack would be easier. Statistically.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Keith pondered.

“And I can’t get you nongods into heaven without the moon bridge anyway. We got some time.” Hunk nodded.

“How much?” Keith asked.

“Three days until the next full moon.”

Lance nodded and looked at Pidge. “Then we should use those three days…” He looked at them, then pulled a plate over and poked at the food a bit. “Which means…We need to be alone with the egg as much as possible.”

“You make it sound like that would be torture.” Pidge gave a toothy grin.

Keith ate his second plate silently. His ears turning a shade or two pinker as he tenderly set the egg in Lance’s lap before hooking his arm around his. His knuckles stroking the smooth purple scales.

Lance shrugged a little, and he smiled a bit. He ate a little more before he rested a hand on the egg in his lap. “I mean, it probably has to be quiet, so it’s not like we’re going to be having too much fun.”

“Didn’t stop you last night.” Hunk grinned and his grin only got wider at Keith’s tensing shoulders. It was cruel to revel in the small god’s discomfort, but Hunk couldn’t help himself. Keith was in rare form and he wanted to push it.

“Sounded like someone was having fun.” Hunk leaned back.

Heat washed over Keith in a wave of flush, before those eyes focused up at Hunk with a wicked glint. “I’ll try to make sure Lance keeps it down from now on.”

“Well at least we were having fun.” Lance arched a brow at Hunk before he turned to Keith. “Wait a minute! You were way louder than I was!”

Keith stroked Lance’s chin. “Oh babe, don’t be so shy. You know you like it when I get aggressive.” Keith leaned forward and took a kitten lick at Lance’s sharp chin. 

“Is that what you want to see Hunk?” Keith skin, burning to the touch, was soothed while pressing his cheek to Lance’s. He leveled his glare at Hunk.

Lance grinned a little. “Do you really want to play this game with the others here?” His grin widened as his tail appeared and slid up the back of Keith’s shirt. “Since we all know you’re the loud one.” 

Pidge sharply elbowed Hunk and half-hissed, “Now look what you started, idiot!”

Keith’s eyes widened, his body board stiff. A moan came out of his mouth in a tone only reserved for lovers. Keith hadn’t been prepared and figured Lance knew his limits. Most of all he thought Lance would never want him to make a sound like that in front of others. 

Keith, mortified, knew he’d started it as a punishment for Hunk’s cheeky comments, but didn’t expect Lance to try to finish it flare. Though, given the dragon’s competitive streak, Keith should have known better. 

Perpetual young adult hormones ran through Keith’s body, blazing up with the heat of his blood. “All right, all right. Fair enough.” Keith reigned himself in, focusing on the ground before he stood up. His hand moving over the egg and then slipping to the back of Lance’s neck. “I’m done eating for now. I’m going to check the extent of the perimeter.”

“Oh, that’s exact one thou-” Pidge started but was cut off by Keith.

“I’ll check it for myself. I need to be certain.” Keith never stopped and continued out of the room.

Lance’s tail disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, and he pales a little at Keith’s departure. Guilt set in, but he wouldn’t let the others see it. Instead, he shifted the egg in his arms and stood. “Just remember this is your fault, Hunk.”

“Hey! What did I do?” Hunk’s expression fell. “You were the one who took it too far!”

Lance simply responded by shooting him a look. He pulled the egg closer and walked out of the room. He could hear Pidge scolding and comforting Hunk at the same time, and for a moment, Lance felt bad for being annoyed at his friend, but he was also more annoyed with himself. He looked around before he headed towards the door. At the very least, he wanted to apologize to Keith. He sighed as he started walking around the compound, shivering slightly as the cold air hit his face and arms, so he held the egg as close as he could. And he just walked until he could feel Keith’s heat. 

He rounded a corner and his eyes widened. He caught Keith just as the other man hit the ground, his wings spread out behind him. “Keith?”

Keith pushed himself off the ground, rubbing dirt from his cheeks. He saw Lance and tugged defiantly at his jacket with a sniff. “Hey. I guess it’s not exactly like riding a bike.”

“Are you hurt?” Lance looked down at him and sighed. “About before, I shouldn’t have done that to you, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He sighed and shifted the egg in his arms. “Please don’t hurt yourself because you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not hurting myself because I’m mad at you. I’m hurting myself because of the laws of gravity.” Keith hopped from the ground to the AC unit then preceded to climb up the first and second story of the house until he managed to perch himself on a third floor balcony. He took a deep breath and jumped, a light flashing from his back. For a second it appeared as if the wind would carry him away until he jerked. Careening downward, he crunched into the branches of an evergreen and landed with a roll on to the soft moss of the forest floor.

Lance sighed and stood there, watching as Keith basically dove into the tree branches. “But you are mad at me.” He sighed and looked down at the egg he was holding close to his chest. “Do you want me to go inside? I don’t want to agitate you more than I already have, but I’m not sure I can stand here while you hurt yourself either.”

“Would you rather I stay grounded?! Someplace you can always keep track of me?!” Keith snarled and regretted it the second it came out of his mouth. His shoulders and wings slumped as he spun himself around, resting back against the abused tree and sunk down the trunk. Snow, ice, and permafrost becoming nothing but muddy earth below his heat. “Sorry.” He whispered, his elbows resting on bent knees as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“You, didn’t deserve that.” Why did Lance always have to be the wounded one? Why did Keith always cave to every sad expression? Every pained sigh? In the scheme of things Keith knew why. He knew exactly why he suffered in silence. His pain was trivial. Keith would rather suffer a million wounds then to ever see hurt or pain in those sea colored eyes. 

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Keith. I came out here to apologize to you. I pushed it too far for the sake of a joke, and that wasn’t fair to you.” Lance shook his head. “I actually feel better that you snapped at me because it means you’re not holding yourself back in an attempt to shield me or protect me.” He watched him for a moment. “I know you’re worried about my corruption from before, but you don’t need to be.” He walked closer to him and crouched, holding out the egg. “You’ve given me this. Nothing you do or say to me, even in anger, can corrupt me as long as you still love me underneath all those other feelings.” He smiled.

“So be mad at me. Snap at me. Call me an idiot or a jerk, just love me at the end of the day. Besides, there is a part of me that wants to keep you down here and safe, but even with that tiny part that wants it, I would never actually hinder you. I want you to fly and be free. I just won’t let you leave me behind.”

Keith sniffed again. “Idiot. Jerk.” Keith rubbed his cheek with one muddy hand, streaking his face with moss and dirt. He kept his eyes forward, trying to maintain his agitation, but his lip trembled and his heart twisted. “I can’t.” He whispered, turning to Lance and their egg. “I just can’t. And it pisses me off…”

“Will you at least come be pissed off inside where I can clean you up and heal your wounds?” Lance smiled softly.

“Make me.” Keith snorted, turning his head to the side.

Lance blinked, but he stepped back a bit. “No. I won’t make you.” 

Keith sighed, his head pressed against the back of the tree before he silently struck his hand out for Lance to take and help him up.

Lance shifted the egg with one arm and took Keith’s hand to help him up. He didn’t let go once the other man stood, either. “You don’t have to forgive me, just let me help you.”

“it’s not that big of a deal. I-I’m over reacting.” Keith reached out to touch the egg and he sighed softly. “I shouldn’t be so childish.”

“I don’t think you’re overreacting at all.” Lance smiled and leaned in to kiss his forehead. “I think you were justifiably mad and came out here to blow off some steam.” He kept holding Keith’s hand. “Let’s go inside. It’s a little cold out here, and we should keep this little one warm.” 

“AH! Sorry…” Keith winced and offered to take the egg, holding it close to his body, shielding it from any possible chill in the air. “I’m already horrible at this.”

“You’re not horrible. I’m the idiot that brought it outside when I can’t warm it well without you.” Lance smiled sheepishly, still holding Keith’s hand as he led him back inside. “I just wanted to make sure I apologized to you.”

“Do you know why I was upset?” Keith looked up at Lance then back down.

“Because I made you moan in front of everyone instead of just telling Hunk to leave you alone?” Lance looked at him.

A look of hurt crossed Keith’s expression. “Part of it.”

Lance sighed. “Well, that’s the core of it at least…I know I fucked up pretty badly, and I shouldn’t have touched you with my tail because that’s something just for us. And so I embarrassed you in front of everyone, but I also showed them something you never wanted them to see. I don’t blame you for being upset and angry with me, and I won’t blame you if you don’t forgive me, especially because I don’t like letting anyone else see you like that either. I just stupidly got caught up in the moment and tried to tease you, but I went too far.”

Keith hid his face in his hand while hugging the egg closer. “They all know what I sound like. Including Shiro.”

“Well, to be fair, you definitely don’t sound like that most of the time. Not that saying such a thing makes you feel better. And I’m pretty sure they heard you last night…” Lance shook his head and sighed, his shoulders slumping. “There’s nothing I can say or do that will make it better, and I can’t take it back. I feel pretty shitty about it. And as much as I want to, I won’t ask Hunk to take everyone’s memories away.” He slowly turned his head to look at Keith. “I was just so happy. I haven’t felt this happy in as long as I can remember. We’re whole. We have our egg. We’re together. I just let myself get too comfortable in that feeling, and I fucked up. I’m really sorry I made you feel this badly.”

“I’m just, overly tired. I’m ruining something that’s supposed to be important.” Keith swallowed as if he were burying something deep down inside. “I’m sorry. I don’t deserve any of this, and then I go off being demanding and running into trees.” Keith bowed his head. “I’m not ungrateful.”

“You’re not ruining anything, and no one thinks you’re ungrateful.” Lance shook his head and sighed. “Please…don’t hide anything from me. If you’re not okay, then don’t be okay. Don’t hold yourself back to protect me, or anyone else, from your feelings…” 

“You don’t need to worry. I’m fine. I’m always fine. You were just having fun. I mean I started it.” Keith curled himself a little tighter. “You had a very long and traumatic day yesterday. I’m not going to run off anywhere or do anything stupid. I’ll be okay.”

Lance stopped walking and looked at him. “You really think I’m that fragile? That I can’t handle you feeling anything other than happiness? Is it because I cracked when you forgot me? Did I say anything about you running off and doing something stupid? Why would I even think that? I trust you. But I guess you don’t trust me?” He sighed. “I know you wouldn’t cry about Nizha in front of me. And now you’re hiding from me again? How can I be what you need me to be if you won’t let me?”

Keith flinched, coiling in at those words. “You are the fragile one.” Keith whispered handing the baby over to Lance. “But you endure.” Keith walked over to a clear vase. “You can do anything to water. Freeze it. Disrupt it. Boil it.” Keith held a flame to the bottom of the vase and the water rolled into a boil. Steam curled up to the top where his palm captured it. “Evaporate it. And yet it always reforms.” He showed his hand to Lance. Condensation dripped over the fine lines.

“Fire?” Keith crushed his hand violently over the flame. “Either burns. Or it doesn’t.” Keith pushed his hands into his pockets. “I’ll burn only on what you give me. I’m sustained by you. My flame isn’t eternal. I either burn or I don’t. You’re my pyre. My torch. I am only what you allow me to go into. And I’ll be dowsed by you when I’ve become too hot.” Keith forced himself to lift his head. “In the light of that, how could I ever burden you with more than you’ve already taken on. I’m not exactly ‘controlled.’”

“Because supporting you isn’t a burden, it’s my pleasure. Because I love you. Because you love me.” Lance’s brows furrowed as he held the egg a little closer. “Because I am nothing without you, but you’re still everything without me.” He bowed his head and focused on the iridescent purple scales of the egg. “It’s not fair if you keep supporting me, but you won’t let me support you. I know I’m not the smartest, or the kindest, or the bravest person. I know I’m probably not even the best suited for you, since I’m bad at fighting, and I fuck up things I shouldn’t fuck up, and I try to joke and laugh more than anything else. Or that I get upset easily, or scared that someone will take you away from me again. But I live for you. I will always live for you. And yeah, maybe water can be frozen, or boiled, or evaporated, but it can’t be water without the right kind of heat.”

He looked up at Keith after a moment. “What good am I to you, then, if you won’t lean on me?"

“The short of it?” Keith walked over to Lance and placed his hand against his cheek. “My rebirth. That’s my nature. I don’t endure. I never have. I’ve burned out and have been remade. By you. Look at everything you’ve given me.” Keith placed his forehead against Lance’s. “You gave me everything. How can I take anything from you?”

“Why won’t you take anything from me?” Lance sighed and closed his eyes. “I want to give it to you. I want you to have all of me. I haven’t given you enough, and I want you to have more…”

“What if I break you?” Keith moved his hands up to cup Lance’s cheeks. “What if I say the wrong thing. If I say something horrible or say something that you can’t handle to hear? I-I poured my life into purifying you before. My chi into your soul.” Keith watched Lance for a reaction to those words.

Lance searched his face. “I don’t deserve that kind of dedication…you could have hurt yourself. Luckily you didn’t, but you could have. And why didn’t you say something sooner?” He shifted the egg and lifted one of his hands to cover one of the ones Keith had on his cheek. “We could have taken our time. We could have rested more before coming here…And I wouldn’t have…. We only have a few days to rest now. Has this been what’s been upsetting you?” He managed a little smile. “I guess we really have to lock ourselves in a room, so you can recover. I will make sure Hunk makes you the best recovery food…”

Keith lowered his eyes. “I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to stop and think. Otherwise I’d see it again. What I did. The feel of Nizah’s life draining out in my net.” Keith shuddered and for a moment the room became cold as the god fought his own morality and guilt. 

“W-we don’t have the time to spare.” He kissed Lance’s palm. “You would have treated me like I was made of glass. Used your power to heal me when you need it. You would have stopped everything, if you knew for one second what I’d been doing those nights.” 

“And we wouldn’t be here. Now. With this.” Keith leaned down and kissed the top of the egg, his longer hair falling forward to brush the scales and Lance’s arm. “Worth every sacrifice.”

Lance knew there was no arguing those points. Keith was right, and Lance was sure Keith didn’t tell him because he didn’t want to be treated that way, but that didn’t make him feel much better. “Please don’t hide from me again though, okay? I don’t like knowing you’re pushing yourself while I’m oblivious to it…I feel awful.” He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the familiar sting of tears. But he forced them back before he opened them again and looked at Keith. “And you are going to let me take care of you now, right?” And without waiting for an answer, he handed Keith the egg and picked him up, carrying him back up to the bedroom they used the night before.

Keith blinked but didn’t fight as Lance picked him up. “You’re lucky my bones are hollow.” He tried to joke.

“You’re lucky my tail weighs more than you and I’m used to it.” Lance chuckled a little and set him down on the bed. “You are going to rest, got it?”

“I’m… covered in dirt and grass stains.” Keith looked around at the bed and started to stand up again.

“And you’re going to rest!” Lance shook his head. “And wait patiently while I run a bath, and then we will have relaxing bath time together, and I will clean and heal you.” 

“You shouldn’t bother yourself with me.” Keith sat back down, bowing his head his hair falling over his face, the long thick locks hiding his features better than before.

“I don’t ever want to hear you say that again.” Lance shook his head and ruffled his hair. “Unless you stop loving me, and then I still don’t want to hear it.”

“That’s a bit extreme.” Keith hugged himself around the egg and sighed. “All right. Go run the bath.”

Lance sighed. “You keep saying negative things about yourself. They’re not true...” He slumped to the bathroom and started the water, sighing, but coming back when it was ready. “Do you want to walk or should I carry you again?” 

“I can walk.” Keith stood up and carefully undressed. His movements were stiff and a few new bruises had formed alongside the ones Lance had made in his nights of passion and hadn’t healed the last night in the RV. He looked frail now. Pale. Not sickly, but in that way that dreams appear just as you realize you’re caught in the fantasy and everything fades away. 

Lance winced and helped him anyway, waiting until Keith was settled in the bath before he undressed and settled the egg in a pile of towels, so they could keep it close without bringing it into the water. He slid behind Keith and gently started washing his back, concentrating enough to heal each little scrape and bruise. “I’m sorry.”

“Why now?” Keith turned his head over his shoulder. “You said sorry for those the other night, and I thought it strange then. I didn’t stop you, and I didn’t hate it. Don’t ever think you’ve forced yourself on me. You’ve never hurt me.”

“I’m not sorry for loving you. I’m sorry for not noticing you needed more rest.” Lance hugged him from behind and nuzzled his face into the back of Keith’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you’re injured in any way…” 

Keith hugged his arms over the ones across his stomach. “You were more important.” 

“Part of me is very happy you think I’m that important, but promise me if it ever happens again, you’ll talk with me first instead of just injuring yourself?” Lance nuzzled his hair.

“I don’t think you’re that important.” Keith turned his head and let his lips trace over the edge of Lance’s jaw. “You are that important. You’re everything. My lover, friend, partner, father of my child. My world begins and ends with you.” 

“The please talk to me. I’d rather know when something is wrong than be ignorant of it.” Lance’s eyes closed and he held him as close as he could. “I want to be everything you need, even when you don’t want to need it.”

Keith turned his body so his side leaned against Lance’s chest. Their perfect size difference made Keith smile and cuddle in a little closer. Lance’s long arms and legs easily cradled Keith’s stockier body, but at the same time he didn’t feel suffocated. Loved, but not stifled. Protected but not incapable. “Mmm,” He nuzzled the faintly broader chest. “I love everything about you.”

“Really? Even when I’m dumb?” Lance chuckled a little and shifted so he could hold Keith more comfortably. “I won’t complain though.” He kissed the top of Keith’s head.

“Even then. I’m willing to bet that you’re more pissed off at yourself that you let Shiro hear it. And you’re punishing yourself more than I could.”

“Yeah. That’s pretty accurate.” Lance sighed a little and held him closer. “I’m pretty mad at myself for not thinking.”

“I didn’t see his expression, but I’m willing to bet he was more embarrassed.” Keith sighed as he settled more against Lance. 

“Either way…” Lance sighed and closed his eyes, feeling only marginally relieved by the weight against him.

Keith murmured a reply but between the feel of Lance’s body and the water cradling him, his fire soothed. The smaller god started to drift off.

“Eh?” Lance blinked, but then he shook his head and got Keith out of the bath, drying him off and putting him in some clothing before carrying him and the egg to bed. Once he tucked them in he sighed a little and dressed himself, heading out of the room in search of more blankets and some food.

Keith shifted, and the tiniest of whimper left his lips. The subtle noise stirring the bird and his eyes fluttered open. “Lance?” The smell of fresh linen was all around him along with the comforting warmth of Pidge’s guest bed. Finding himself alone he smiled to himself as he reached over to pull the egg down to his chest. 

“Hey.” He whispered, gentle finger tips moving over the purple scales. “I know you don’t know me or remember me, but umm I’m sorry. I’m sure I’m gonna be sorry for a lot of things, but I’m sorry you had to wait so long. I’m sorry you’ve had a rocky start.” He curled himself over the egg, surrounding it with his warmth while sleepy blue eyes started to droop. 

“But I’ll do everything to make it up to you. I’m going to really suck at it, but Seiryuu will be there too.” Keith nuzzled the soft scales. “You’ll really like him. He already loves you a lot, and he’ll know what to do if you’re sick or if you cry.” Keith kissed to pick top. 

“He’ll teach us both I suppose. I really don’t know anything. Just, a long time ago when you were still inside Lance, Seiryuu, would sing to you. Do you remember?” His fingers stroked the edges absently. “Probably not. I do. His voice always calmed me down, and I really liked the song. It went something like this,” a soft rhythmic melody filled the room has Keith started to sing the ancient melody. His shy tenor voice getting bolder has the lyrics and tune became a clear memory in his head.

Lance paused outside the door to the room when he heard that voice. He rested his ear close to the door so he could try to hear whatever Keith was saying. He could kind of make some of it out, and he could tell he was speaking in soft tones. He smiled and shifted his tail to hold the spare blankets a bit higher, and he balanced a tray of food with his arm, so he could free a hand to open the door just in time to hear Keith’s singing. 

“You remember the song?” He whispered as he carried the food and blankets into the room. He walked towards him and set the tray on the side table. He kissed the top of Keith’s head and wrapped one of the blankets around his shoulders.

Keith flushed, cutting himself off as the second he knew Lance was in the room. “Of course I remember.” He nuzzled the egg, trying to hide his face against it. “I didn’t know you could hear all of that.”

“I wish I heard more of it.” Lance smiled and sat next to him. He rested his hand against Keith’s hair. “You’re amazing, you know that right?”

“Heh?” Keith turned a bashful eye to Lance.

“You heard me.” Lance smiled and stroked those midnight locks. “You’re going to be a good parent.”

“I don’t know anything.” Keith closed his eyes. “I’m going to mess up.”

“I don’t think you will mess up.” Lance kept stroking his hair. “I think we’ll learn how to do it together.”

“I’ll let you handle the lullabies.” Keith’s groaned softly with the attention to his hair. 

“Oh? How kind of you. Though I wouldn’t mind sharing that duty with you, you know.” Lance murmured. “Do you need me to sing one now?”

“Your voice is better.” Keith sighed out. “Kinder on her ears.” A yawn broke his words as he nuzzled in tighter to Lance and the egg.

“Yours is nice too.” Lance whispered and shifted so he could lay with Keith and hold him and the egg a little closer. He smiled and rubbed his back gently. “And it’d be good for her to hear both of us hm? But for now, you should rest.” He slowly closed his eyes, before they snapped open. “Her?”

“Hmm.” Keith murmured something and yawned again. “She chose. She’s not exactly like us. Since she wasn’t created from thought. She was created by the physical.” Keith blushed. “And she made a choice.” One eye opened and looked up at Lance. “I can feel it. You’re going to have a daughter.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “R…really?” Keith really had no reason to lie, so Lance curled closer to him and nuzzled his shoulder, his own cheeks reddening. “Wow. That’s…I mean… I will have to threaten any guy that looks at her,” he murmured. 

“Haha, if she’s our kid? She’ll be able to threaten them herself.” Keith closed his eyes again. “Her heart beat is getting stronger. Can you feel it?”

“Don’t take my dad privilege away from me.” Lance pouted a little, but he nuzzled Keith’s hair. “I can. Do you think she’ll hatch soon, then?”

“I don’t know.” Keith moved his finger over the egg, tenderly going over each rivet. “You’re so calm. The day I laid it you thought I was going to die.” 

“I’m only calm because you already laid it.” Lance smiled and held him a little closer. “I’m sure I’ll freak out again when she starts to hatch.”

Keith leaned up and nuzzled his nose against Lance’s. “If you freak out, who will keep me calm?” He laid his head on the pillow next to Lance’s. His hand cupping his cheek lovingly. “I don’t even remember why I was upset before.” His knuckles stroked the soft bronze skin. “I love you.”

“We can both freak out. That would be more normal.” Lance nuzzled Keith’s hand and looked at him. “I love you too,” he whispered before he turned his head and kissed the other man’s fingers. “So much so.” He settled a little more and looked at Keith again, smiling just a little bit. “I’m glad you’re not upset now. It means you’ll rest better. And you need to rest. You need to regain your strength.” As he kept smiling, his eyes flashed briefly, and his tail wrapped around them both under the blankets. He focused, and there was a faint silver glow from beneath those covers, as he healed Keith just a little more. 

Keith gasped, the wave of his lover’s power washing over him as the moon pulls the tide. Vitality filled his veins and he felt that same giddy energy he got whenever Lance used his power on him. A mixing of their life forces, their souls becoming one heart with one beat for a fraction of a second, and Keith gave back. His mansions burned brightly on his body completing the infinite loop of their wills. Black bled into white locks of wavy hair and gentle blue eyes stared up at Lance; tender, loving, and willing to offer him the world. All he had to do was ask.

From his back translucent wings materialized. They shimmered first with metallic silver, then fazed into a rainbow of gem stone feathers, making his final form complete. Ruby, gold, onyx, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst quills glittered in the low lighting of the room and there Keith laid before his dragon in his purest composition. The whole of Suzaku. 

Lance watched Keith’s transformation, and he smiled, a hand lifting to push some of his cloud-like hair out of his eyes. “You never cease to amaze me,” he whispered, his fingers tracing down his cheek and jaw, and he smiled. His scales shimmered into existence, soft, pliant, and all the colors of a vibrant reef, full of life. His heart beat louder in his chest than it ever seemed to before, and he was filled with such love that it warmed his entire being. Those pulses of healing energy carried that heat and love, transferring it to his lover.

A gentle sigh escaped Suzaku’s lips and his body arched with the faintest bend, as if Seiryuu had intimately entered him. With his cheeks flushed, he whispered, “I figured you’d be used to me by now. But I guess it’s been a long time for either of us to see each other like this.”

“I’ll never get used to it because you inspire me every time.” Lance nuzzled his lips against Keith’s temple. “And I like it that way.” He shifted to make Keith more comfortable after the arch of his body. His hands slid down to rest on the smaller man’s hips. 

Keith’s lashes fluttered, the corner of his lower lip catching between his teeth to stall a delicate mewl. The power flowed through him, offsetting the balance of his own weakened chi and became one with him. A soft icy blue sheen started to tint the silver white of his hair. “Nnm..”

“Is it too much?” Lance’s eyes darkened as he watched his power manifest in Keith. He knew it was working. He knew his healing was doing what it needed to do, but if he was turning him on, he would have to stop. As much as he would love to be intimate with Keith in this moment, they had the bird’s health and the egg to think about. 

“You’re inside me.” Keith let out a slow soft breath. “I can feel you. Your power.” He turned his head against the pillow, tongue moistened lips shimmering and catching metallic hair upon their kissable pink flesh.

“Should I stop for now, then? You need to rest, but can you rest like this?” Lance shifted a little to gently push that hair aside, a soft smile coming to his lips. “I want you to heal and regain your strength, I don’t want to make it worse.”

“How can this hurt me?” Keith opened his eyes finding focus on Lance’s face. He reached his fingers up to touch scales on his neck. ‘Ghost’ gently flared and Keith’s power flowed to Lance letting the other man feel what he felt.

Lance shuddered when the feelings flowed through him, and his eyes focused on Keith, the pale blue changing to a faintly glowing silver. “I…didn’t think I would hurt you.” He half moaned out the words, the power from his body intensifying as if he were attempting to make them both feel even better. “I just…nnn”

“Ah!” Keith carefully put the egg aside, resting it like a crown jewel upon a pillow, letting go of his connection with Lance for just that brief second. The disconnect devastatingly lonely to the point he threw his arms back around him in desperation with tears in his eyes. He didn’t know what they had started, he didn’t know what was happening to his body or why it felt so good but knew he couldn’t be without it.

Lance whimpered when that connection broke, but it was reformed almost instantly, and his arms went around his lover’s waist. “Don’t…let go…” He managed again, silver eyes glowing, his heart pounding faster in his chest. 

Each crystal feather shimmered with a light all its own. Shades of fire birthed into shades ice which birthed into fire once more. The Gods’ light searched out the other, igniting into a crescendo of unexplainable pleasure and joy wherever their bodies touched. A dance of luminescence over their glowing figures showed in finger trails of reds and blues across their skin.

Seiryuu’s scales lightened, his tail becoming a blend of silver and the faintest blush of pink. A soft growl sounded in the back of his throat, and he held Suzaku as close as he could without crushing him in his arms. With each surge he felt from Suzaku, he responded in kind with his own.

Keith leaned up and kissed along Lance’s throat, his voice gentle and taming with an ethereal echo. “Gentle love. Feel me how I feel you.” Fire red marks trailed in the wake of Keith’s chaste lips.

Lance’s scales shimmered where Keith’s lips touched, and he looked at him. “It’s weird…feeling it the way you feel it.” His cheeks flushed, the dark hues extending to his ears.

“What does it feel like? In your words?” Keith touched Lance’s lips with his knuckle. “What do I feel?”

Lance kissed Keith’s knuckle and looked at him, tears in his eyes. “It’s so warm. Not like when I was cold and you warmed me with your heat, but different. Everything just feels so intense. Maybe it’s because it’s you feeling it. Maybe it’s because I finally have my heart back, but it’s more than I’ve felt in a long time, and I don’t know how you handle it. I don’t know how to handle it.” A few tears slid down his cheeks. “Are you always this happy with me?”

“Yes.” Such a simple answer. Keith allowed Lance into the last lockbox inside his soul, allowing Seiryuu’s regained heart to beat with Keith’s desolate one. It had been broken a thousand times over the centuries, but now it was mended by the power of his lover. “Now, there’s not a single part of me that you haven’t left your mark.” 

“Even when I’m stupid?” More tears. Lance’s lower lip quivered a little. “I don’t deserve you.”

A tiny pink tongue came up and licked away the tears falling like winter snow. “You know that’s not true.” Keith whispered, gasping as another surge of Seiryuu’s power filled him. “I was the broken derelict creature, and you remade me. If I’m beautiful, it’s because of you. If I’m strong it’s because you made me that way. If I’m anything it’s because you showed me everything.” A glowing hand threaded between Lance’s fingers. The light pulsing with every beat of their combined heart. 

“But you were amazing even before I did anything.” Lance managed a little smile. “You gave me life. Without you, I would be nothing.” He leaned up and placed a chaste little kiss to Keith’s lips. “You’ve saved me time and time again.”

Keith smiled after that kiss, pulling his fingers away from Lance’s hand and pushing them into his hair. “Also, not true but your words are kind. You may have desired me at first, but you didn’t love me until the night we made her.” Keith kissed Lance back, his fingers sliding down Lance’s neck, over his shoulder and back town to his fingers where he traced over a golden ring of light. A feather took shape and wrapped around Lance’s finger until it became a solid band with river of blue sapphire dust cut elegantly down the center. “Of me. For you. To be what is mine.” Keith whispered the ancient vow against Lance’s ear.

“Still. I didn’t want to live until the day you tried to kill me. So whether it was lust or love at first, that doesn’t change that I only live because of you,” Lance whispered and started to close his eyes as the ring formed around his finger. He pouted slightly. “No fair. That’s way cooler than what I did for you.” His finger slid over the gold and redwood band on Keith’s finger. “How am I supposed to top that?”

“It’s a competition?” Keith’s laugh chimed. “I think mine matches me perfectly.” 

“Well no, but…” Lance kept pouting. “You’re always so much better at this than I am.”

“Better at what?” Keith, closed his eyes. “Mm.. a little more…” Came his soft pleading voice. He sensed the power waning and he wasn’t ready to let it go. 

Lance shook his head and held him close again, allowing his power to surge once more, groaning a bit when the feeling was projected back to him.

“Mmng…” Keith’s fingers flexed then squeezed down on Lance’s shoulders, bunching up the fabric as he came to a form of fulfillment, his body going rigid and then soft as the light between them died down and Keith’s soft pants filled the room.

Lance felt that same feeling come over him, and he groaned, his body pressing up towards Keith before he sank back into the bed, his eyes closing as his mind tried to process the emotions swirling inside him.

Keith’s wings pulled in, and his hair darkened into a raven black so deep shimmers of blue caught the light. “Mm… I would have done a soul bind a lot sooner if I’d known it felt that good.”

When Lance’s eyes opened, they were their normal oceanic hue, his tail having vanished once the feelings subsided. “Mmm. But it wasn’t like we exactly had the time or the power to do so.” He whispered, kissing Keith’s forehead.

“No. We didn’t. Not since the day we-” A soft cracking sound broke Keith’s sentence. His eyes widened, knowing instinctively what the sound was but he was too afraid to look. “L-lance…” 

Lance’s eyes widened and he shifted so he could see the egg, still resting on the pillow Keith had placed it on before. “It’s…” He moved one hand to touch Keith’s cheek. “You…should watch.”

“I…” Keith blinked and turned his body toward the egg as another crack made him flinch. A tiny white claw poked its way out of the larger of two cracks, and Keith had to force himself to stay still. Instinct wanted to help. The little claw became a white scaled hand and all Keith wanted to do was it pick up and protect it from everything. But he didn’t. Instead he waited without a breath.

Lance shifted and sat up, so he could watch better. He rested his hand on Keith’s head and gently stroked his hair. “Breathe, she needs to figure this out on her own. Remember, she’s safe in here with us. Let her take her time.” Another crack and that scaled hand was joined by another, the claws seeming to grip at the shell to crack it further. 

Before he realized, Keith leaned forward, his hands holding him up on the bed as he watched one piece of the shell break away, the inside shimmering like a geode. He lifted his eyes from the broken shell and found two iridescent opals eyes staring back at him. The colors within the precious stones were on fire with aqua and coral hues. Dark skin coated the features of her beautiful chubby cheeks and faded down into silver white scales. They looked so soft, not like the hard ones which graced Lance’s body, but soft like the petals of a flower. So fragile. So perfect.

Those eyes were aware yet clueless as a tiny clawed hand reached up for Keith and the god of the south knew he would never cherish anything more than that little hand. He reached over and took her up in his arms, a white tail wrapping instantly around his hand and wrist as small angelic wings opened, flapped once then folded back in.

Lance watched Keith pick up their daughter and cradle her gently in his arms. He smiled a little at the way the other man absolutely melted at the way those bright opals shined up at him. He shifted and looked over Keith’s shoulder, smiling softly at the small bundle that had his skin, but Keith’s wings, and he hesitantly reached out a finger to stroke one chubby cheek. “Amazing…” As he touched her soft skin, his horns grew from his head, and his scales on his neck brightened. She needed to know just how much like her parents she was.

Those eyes widened and seemed dazzled by Lance for moment before she focused on the gentle touch of his finger, then Keith’s wing against her cheek. There was a tiny coo of delight followed smallest of sneezes. “A silver dragon.” Keith said, lowering down to whisper against the silk fine threads of her silver hair. 

Lance pulled his hand back when Keith’s wing went forward, and he nodded slightly. “I’ll go inform the others, and get some appropriate clothes and food for her.” He slid off the bed and stretched a bit.

“Don’t go.” Keith looked up at Lance. “Not yet.” Keith’s wings opened and lifted as though he were creating a shelter for them. “Stay with your family a little longer?” Keith’s voice was so small and quiet, but he said the words naturally without hesitation. 

“Okay.” Lance didn’t really want to leave anyway, and he sat back on the bed and scooted closer to him, looking at his expression before he tapped his cheek. “Don’t look so worried. She’s fine. See?”

Keith nuzzled Lance’s hand even if it was just a gentle tap. “I’m not ready for anyone else.” He turned his body so he was leaning against Lance’s chest, the cradled baby softly cooing between them. “In all the commotion, we never came up with a name.” 

“I wasn’t going to let anyone else in here. I was going to make sure they left us alone.” Lance curled an arm around Keith and gently poked the little one’s cheeks. “A name hm? Well you knew it was a girl before I did. Did anything pop to mind?” 

Keith shifted to lay more comfortably against his lover and he closed his eyes for a second before he smiled. “Allura.” Keith he turned his head up so he could see Lance’s face. "Your little princess."

Lance nodded, satisfied with that. “Allura,” he whispered. “Suzaku’s angel.” He chuckled and nuzzled Keith’s hair. “It suits her.”


	17. If not of Earth, then what of sky?

Keith sat back in a small chair. Legs folded comfortably in front of him with Allura cradled in his lap. She hatched bigger than Keith expected. Only a day old and she was the size of a six month old human with the inquisitive awareness of a two year old. She held fast to the bottle at her lips, supported lightly by Keith’s knuckle. 

“She’s perfect.” Hunk whispered as he sat beside Keith. A thick finger touching one of the chubby rolls on her legs. She kicked his hand away. He laughed out right, which caused the baby’s eyes to widen, and she giggled with delight around the rubber teat of the bottle. “Definitely yours.” He said between laughs.

“Lance hates being tickled.” Keith grinned. “Might be one of his traits.”

“Okay. Well TMI.” Hunk covered Keith’s mouth with his hand, not removing it until he was sure it was safe.

“You are right though. She’s perfect.” Keith wiped his mouth now that Hunk had let go of him.

Lance sat back in his chair and watched them all fawn over the baby. Of course they would. Who wouldn’t? She was the most adorable thing in the entire world, mortal or otherwise. He crossed his arms and puffed his cheek out a bit. He knew they had to discuss the plan for when the bridge to heaven appeared. He knew it was important, but he barely had a day to cuddle with Keith and Allura, and now everyone was all over them.

“Hunk…” He started, waiting for the other dragon to turn his attention to him. “You can poke her legs and hope she doesn’t decide to attack your fingers all you want when we leave her here with you.” He shrugged a bit, completely ignoring the shock on the larger man’s face. “You are staying here. You’re the only one that can protect her while we’re there, and we can’t take her with us.”

“Then the four of you are going…?” Hunk shook his head. “Is that a good idea?”

“It would be better for the four directions to go together, wouldn’t it?”

“Lance and I already talked about it. Of the five of us, you’re the only one who could protect her on your own.” Keith stoked his finger over the baby’s hand. “And I know you’ll love her as much as anyone else could.”

“And Pidge?” Hunk looked over at the small god who was smiling tenderly back at him.

“They need me. You know that without the four, they don’t stand a chance.” She stepped over to big man and bonked his fist with her hand. “And we will need you here to make the bridge home.”

“Coran-”

“Can’t hold her.” Pidge cut off Hunk’s complaint. “He’s a very sophisticated A.I. but he doesn’t have the warmth she’ll need.”

“I know it’s asking a lot.” Keith put the bottle down and held the child on his shoulder, his cheek nestling her little pointed ear.

Allura cooed, her eyes brightening when she gained a visual of Lance followed by a string of excited garbles.

“I’ll do it. I can’t have you guys worrying about her when I need ya all back alive.”

Lance stood from his chair and moved to stand by Keith, his fingers gently stroking the little white tufts of Allura’s hair. He smiled a little when she grabbed one of his fingers, and he let her bring it to her mouth and gnaw on it a little, even though her little baby dragon teeth were a bit sharp. Why did she have teeth already? Was it because she was in that egg for centuries? He didn’t understand, but he let her chew. She didn’t draw blood though, and so he didn’t pull away.

“Sorry Hunk,” he sighed and looked at him. “If there was any other way, you know we would try that instead, but… If something happens to us, she needs another dragon to raise her.” He smiled slightly. “Though we hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“I understand.” Hunk hated it, but he couldn’t fight it. “I’ll do my best.”

“We know.” Keith smiled. 

“As for us.” Shiro stepped further into the room, his eyes fixated on his former charge and the child in his arms. “So we get in there then what? Guns blazing?”

“That’s where you come in. You can teleport for as far as the eye can see.” Keith shifted his shoulders, grinning at the puppy like growl that came from Allura’s mouth when she had to let go of Lance’s finger.

“There’s no way they won’t know we’re there once we cross the bridge.” Lance tapped Allura’s nose as though that would quell the cute growl. “They’ll likely try to cut us off at the gates, but they won’t expect us to be complete. They don’t know where our seventh mansions were. They will expect us to be much weaker than we are.” He stroked Allura’s little chubby cheek. “So the further we can get without fighting, the more surprised they’ll be.” 

“And you’re counting on that?” Shiro frowned, shaking his head. “You know it’s not going to be easy.”

“Of course we know that. But we also know what we can do. They don’t.” Lance looked at him. “Keith and I have talked about this. We…can’t show them all of our cards from the start. Not when that bastard still has my claws.”

“Pidge and Lance will be able to cloak us as we go along. Either one of them can do it for stationary objects but Pidge figured out a way to make it work while moving if they combine their efforts.” White wings fluttered happily over Keith’s shoulder as Allura reached desperately for one of Keith’s. The dark haired god obliged, letting the small dragon pull and pet her father’s brightly colored feathers. “The fewer we have to fight, the better we’ll be when we face the emperor. And… Jinzha.” Keith’s eyes lowered to the floor.

“Do you think he’d be there?” Shiro arched a brow.

“Of course. His two younger brothers are dead. He’s not the type to let that go easily.” Keith moved his wing in closer, curling it over one shoulder to cradle Allure with it. She squeaked excitedly and buried her face in the soft down.

“Leave him to me…” Lance sighed and rested his hand on Keith’s head. “I don’t want you worrying about him after what happened.” He gently ran his fingers through his hair. “Besides, your efforts will be needed for Yu Di. I can only do so much against him while he has a piece of me.”

Keith nodded his head as he watched Allura cuddle herself into his feathers. A sudden and unremorseful chill shot through him. Ice cold sharpened like claw, it gripped the back of his neck and manifest in a bead of sweat on his temple. Keith knew fear, but terror still stood alien to him. He’d never wanted to die, but he had a healthy respect for ‘the way things were’. Now, when he saw Allura’s sweet innocent face curl itself in the dark ruby down of his wings unware of anything other than the warmth coming from them and the person who created it, he felt it like an old friend. “I…”

“Hey…” Lance slid his hand down to the back of Keith’s neck and he leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “You look tired. We should go get some rest…hm? At least until it’s time to eat.” 

“H-huh?” Keith blinked and looked up at Lance, the chill was gone but his heart still raced.

“You need to rest.” Lance glanced at the others as though to tell them not to ask, but then he smiled down at Keith. “Come on. Allura needs a nap anyway.”

“But we’re not done?” Keith looked at the others then up at Lance. 

“We can discuss the rest when we eat okay?” Lance tapped his cheek. “Unless you want to stay here and tell them everything, and I’ll put her down for her nap?”

“I think we could use a little break.” Pidge smiled. “Hunk and I need to talk about a few things.”

“Yeah. If I’m going to be hopping us around the temple, I better double check the maps. Pidge does Coran-“

“Way ahead of you Shiro. Coran can load 3D models of the whole structure.” Pidge beamed. 

“You are amazing Pidge.” Shiro walked up to the Western Tiger and ruffled her hair making the small god beam . “Alright we’ll work on that and you two. Well you two work on – that.” Shiro pointed to the curled up sleeping dragon.

“O-okay.” Keith blinked, obviously confused as everyone left their room. It only took a few more seconds before he suspiciously eyed his partner. “Lance…

Lance shook his head and carefully pulled Allura out of Keith’s wings, holding her close. “You need some time to collect yourself. Your scent changed a bit. You’re scared, and rightfully so. So am I. But you can’t let them know you are, right?” He managed a soft smile. “So I wanted to give you an out so you could calm down a little.”

“Since when can you smell fear?” Keith twisted his head around to follow Lance about the room. “You’ve never told me about that before.” 

“You’ve never felt that afraid before, not as far as I could tell.” Lance sighed a little as he sat on the bed and continued to cradle Allura in his arms. “It was a whole new level for you. You felt it didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Keith admitted after a moment. “I looked at her and I felt it. It was overwhelming.” Keith leaned his head against Lance’s shoulder, kissing it before wrapping his arm around them. His wing curving over the small family. “I just got all this. I don’t want to lose any of it.”

“I know. Me neither. So we have to trust our friends, each other, and ourselves.” Lance turned his head to kiss the top of Keith’s. “And we need to be strong for her, which is why I wanted us to have a little more alone time with her right now, so you could quell some of your fears. We will win. We have to, for her sake.”

“Win and survive.” Keith added. “We can’t do all or nothing any more. It’s all. We have to win. We have to survive.” 

“We will. I have faith in us. You do too. And most importantly, she does. And that’s the strongest faith there is.” Lance smiled and kissed his forehead before he looked down at their daughter. “They cannot take her away from us now. She is our bonded one.”

Keith nuzzled his nose into Lance’s hair. “I won’t let them.”

\-----

Keith swallowed around the solid lump in his throat as he handed Allura over to Hunk. The big man cradled the whimpering bundle to his chest as though she were the most precious and fragile gift in the world. Reinforcing to Keith why it had to be Hunk. He was as loving as he was strong. Keith felt sympathy for any creature that dared to challenge the great yellow dragon.

He turned back to the others standing before a grand silver bridge. It glittered in the moonlight and looked to be made of the stars themselves. When Keith titled his head to the right or the left enough, the whole bridge disappeared into silver reflections off the surface of the lake. “All right.”

Lance took Keith’s hand and squeezed it once Keith handed Allura over. He smiled a little. “She’ll be okay.” He slowly stepped towards the bridge, letting go of Keith’s hand to reach out and touch it. The stars seemed to shine even brighter for a moment before he pulled his hand back. “It should be fine on the other side.” 

“Did you call them?” Keith whispered leaning his chin up on Lance’s shoulder.

Shiro walked up beside the two, his wolfish grin contagious as Keith mirrored it. They were warrior gods above all else and the spark in the air thrilled them. “You know he did. You can smell it. The battle on the other side?”

Lance nodded a little and looked at them. “They’re not all around anymore, but the ones who heard me will be there when we cross.” He wiped a stray tear from his cheek, and he steeled himself before he stepped onto that bridge, holding his head high as he began to cross.

“We will avenge them.” Keith growled in his throat as the scene of a peaceful late winter’s night became the scene of a mid-spring twilight. Keith took Lance’s hand as the four gods stepped onto the bridge. The sound of battle filled Keith’s ears, and his wings instantly shivered and darkened with the promise of violence.

Lance shook his head and squeezed Keith’s hand. “They gave up long ago.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were those slitted dragons’ eyes. 

Skirmishes had broken out in random patterns with uneven numbers. Mutilated and mauled bodies of beasts littered the ground, filling the air with thick smell of fire and blood. Keith watched with growing passion as a small dragon dived down into the gut of a furry bovine bipedal beast and came out the other side screeching its victory as the hairy creature fell to ground.

“Seiryuu!” 

Lance’s head snapped to the side as he stepped off the bridge, and three small forms knocked him away from Keith and practically tackled him to the ground. “Eh?” He sat up, holding what looked like children, between six and twelve, in his lap. Their small faces splattered with blood as they smiled and clung to him.

“We got rid of all the bad people, Seiryuu!” The smallest one chimed. 

“Thank you, Pu Lao,” He said as he ruffled the little child’s head, and hugged the three of them close. “You too, Chi Wen and Bi An.”

“Sorry our other brothers didn’t wait for you.” The eldest of the three stood and started pulling his dragon siblings off Seiryuu’s lap. “But they decided to go to Earth rather than stay here.” He should have sounded sad, but he was smiling. “And Yinglong is finishing up.” He pointed to a larger dragon that was tearing apart the last of the bestial soldiers. “So you should go with the other uncles and win okay? We will keep everything safe here for our new princess.”

“Bi An, Thank you.” Lance ran a hand through the child’s white hair and smiled before he turned to the others. “Shiro, how far can you get us? They’re going to think we’re struggling here.”

Keith walked over to Pu Lao, his talon scratching tenderly under the little one’s neck. He always had a soft spot for the little whelps. They treated Keith as though he were some kind of sacred parent. “News travels fast.” His smile was warm as he quirked an eye up at Bi An. “Thanks for your help.”

Shiro stood tall over the rocky cliff side and looked out to the whole of heaven. The early evening sky did little to hide the state heaven had become. He scarcely recognized his home. Lush greenery stood wilted and dried to wind torn crisps. The soil of life now cracked all the way up to the rocky banks of dried up river beds. Houses and temples caved in upon themselves with abandoned reconstruction scaffolding laying rusted and abandoned. Heaven was dead.

“Shiro?” Lance’s brows furrowed, and he gently rested a hand on the older god’s arm. “This…is why they do what they do. They’re scared of losing what’s already gone.” He sighed. “How far do you think we can get? We need to put a stop to Yu Di.”

Keith walked up beside Lance with the youngest of the small dragons around his shoulders, Pidge beside him.

“I had heard. But I didn’t believe.” Pidge whispered.

Lance reached up and gently tapped the little dragon on the head. “Pu Lao, you need to help your brothers and Yinglong, okay? We will be back for you.” He watched the little creature slide off Keith’s neck, growing larger once it landed on the ground and returned to where the others were. He smiled a little, but that expression left his face quickly, and he took one of Keith’s hands. 

“I can get us there.” Shiro pointed to a center garden. “It would be the best location. Past the sentries. But exposed.”

“They won’t come for us?” Keith arched a brow. 

Pidge slapped her hand on Lance’s back. “They can’t find what they can’t see.”

“I don’t know if there’s any sentries left. Look.” Shiro pointed to the first set of large Tori style gates, on either side were the golem sentries stood appeared nothing more than cracked torsos and rubble.

“Either way, better to be safe. I don’t want to take chances.” Keith swallowed. Shiro could tell Keith was seeing what he saw, but he refused to acknowledge it. A building was just a building. A body was just a body. No time to dwell.

Lance nodded and looked over at Pidge before his brows furrowed a bit in concentration. “Okay. I’m ready, and I can keep us hidden for as long as we need…I think.”

“And me?” Keith asked.

“You save all you are for what’s next” Shiro smiled before his faced darkened and a wave of smokey black mist embraced the four beasts and in less than a second they appeared with unsteady feet in the center garden of the castle. Once filled with flowers, springs, and chirping bird, this garden was little more than an open grave. Around them corpses piled upon each other, frozen in stone and wrapped in the final moments of death.

Lance clenched his fists, but he kept focusing on keeping them hidden. He said nothing, but he glanced at Keith and tried to express his concern for him. 

Keith stared forward, his eyes hard shards of amethyst. His wings shimmered darkly reflecting his mood but they never reverted to the shades of the creature who fought Nizha. “I’m okay.” He replied to Lance knowing the dragon lord watched his every move. “I expected this.”

Pidge’s eyes were wide and horrified, but she managed to stay focused, keeping the wind at their back to help move the group along and to push the scent of rot away from her sensitive nose. Her powers combined with Lance’s to bend the light and water molecules to keep them cloaked. 

Shiro’s hand came down to cover her eyes. “You don’t need to see this.” He whispered softly.

Her small hand took his and pulled the heavy metal arm down. “I do. These people had their powers stripped away from them. Their souls rendered and stripped. This is what they-” Golden eyes settled on to two gods in front of her. The night they found each other Seiryuu and Suzaku were barely days away from this. A lifeless monument in a dead garden. 

Lance moved, one of his fists unclenching so he could grab Keith’s hand. He kept his eyes forward, stopping when they reached the edge of the garden, he let out a puff of air, and his shoulders relaxed only marginally. “There’s no point in hiding now. He knows we’re here.” He glanced back at Pidge. “Save your energy for whatever comes next.”

“The sentries must really be gone,” Keith said as he stepped forward into the veranda. He knew the whole of the palace would be empty. The hall of heaven had nothing more to it than cold lifeless corridors. He looked down each hallway, and the walkways were all devoid of the carnage of the garden. “There are beasts in the fields, and monsters overhead, but all the gods are-”

“Dead.” Shiro stepped forward and between Lance and Keith. There, a stone figure stood out of place with the rest. Set at the center of the massive throne-room doors, a body contorted in pain, Keith didn’t even want to imagine, yet his face was calm, at peace even. He appeared to be nothing more than a middle-aged man looking out on a peaceful stream. “Jinzha.” Shiro whispered.

“He did this…” Lance shook his head and ended up letting go of Keith when Shiro stepped up, so he walked forward a bit and looked around at the stone corpses scattered around the garden, several crumbling. “He’s losing his power, so he’s draining the others for it.” He glanced over at Keith. “That’s why he sent Muzha after you. He was likely planning on killing the rest of them to return those mansions to you because you have more power than I do…” 

“And we would have been next.” Pidge shook her head. “And then finally you, Seiryuu, because he would have used your sorrow to immortalize himself again.” She sighed as she stepped over the crumbled arm of one of the corpses on the stairs to the veranda. She stopped in front of one, off to the side of the doors and sighed. “His own children….”

“To think that he’s that power hungry. This is why he wanted Allura? Did he know?” Shiro’s voice echoed the despair they all felt.

“Our child.” Keith growled, his eyes becoming black. “He will not do this to her.” 

“If you had handed the creature over from the beginning, none of this would have had to transpire. Honestly, did it all have to be so elaborate?” Keith’s wings flared at the familiar voice and rage radiated from his flesh. Waves of visible heat gently tossing about his hair. 

“Has it been born. Has it hatched? Is the power as immense as I’d hope? The child born from chaos and light?” The doors swung open in a gale rush, turning the last of the three brothers to dust. 

Lance slowly turned his head towards those opening doors, the growl starting in his throat. “You killed all of them, and you sent the rest to die.” His eyes locked on the figure of the Jade Emperor, his golden robes no longer glittering as they once did, and his white beard looking more haggard than regal. Like an old hermit, finally coming out of his shack and seeing the sun for the first time in years.

Pidge adjusted her glasses and moved to stand slightly behind Shiro, mostly in an attempt to stay out of the larger god’s way if he decided to launch himself forward.

“Our child is out of your reach and useless to you.” Lance took a few steps forward. His horns sprouted from his head as his bow materialized in his hand. “Even if you kill us to get to her, she cannot and will not give you any power. It’s over, Yu Di.”

“She? So she has been birthed.” The ancient god stood up from the throne. “Oh children of the sky, you have no idea the remarkable gift you granted me.”

“She’s just a baby. She barely crawls. She falls asleep at the touch of my wings. She giggles endlessly at the sound of Lance’s voice.” Keith stepped forward his hand on Lance’s shoulder as he came to pass, gently guiding him to stand behind him. “She stares at Shiro with wide wondering eyes. She takes Pidge’s glasses off her face and she loves the formula and food Hunk makes. She’s a typical baby. The only thing remarkable about her is how much she means to us. You won’t find the power you want from such a helpless child.”

Lance moved behind Keith and frowned over at the ancient, asshole of a god. “And she’s already bonded. If you know anything about bonded dragons, you cannot take their power.” He couldn’t help the smirk that came to his lips. “You know that. That’s the reason why my cousins are still alive.” 

If Yu Di was bothered by those words, he did not show it. He looked down at the four celestials and his lips twitched slightly, as though he would smirk, but there was no curve there. “And if I take those she’s bonded to, then I can take the bond, which will make her gift even better.”

“You tried.” Shiro yelled up to Yu Di. “If you could have, you would have taken it already.”

“But he can’t. We aren’t of him. He said it himself. “Children of the sky.” Pidge’s eyes widened and she stared at Keith’s back. “Hunk.” She whispered. “He’s a dragon of earth. He’s…”

Keith closed his eyes. “A child of Yu Di.”

“And he’s out of his reach.” Lance reminded them. “And she’s our child. We have to trust the two of them. And we have to trust my cousins.” He glanced at Keith, his jaw set. “Trust them.”

“That’s why you didn’t bring him.” Pidge stared between the Azure Dragon and the Vermillion Bird. “You didn’t want to risk him.” 

Lance shot an apologetic look back to Pidge, but he knew she understood. She would have known it wasn’t just for Hunk’s protection, but because he really was the best for Allura.

“It’s not about trusting them. It’s about knowing Yu Di.” Keith glared up at the frail old man as he descended the staircase. 

“He would have taken Hunk the second he saw him. And in Heaven, Hunk wouldn’t stand a chance.” Keith’s wings ruffled. 

“You can’t control what isn’t yours. Not completely.” Shiro added. “You lost Suzaku because of that.”

“Yes yes. I made a few missteps along the way. I’m not infallible. That’s a mortal concept.” Yu Di stood before them. Dust coating his once fine robes and had settled in the gray unkempt waves of his hair.

“It’s all true. I cannot house your mansions. They are not of me. However inside chaos there’s no need for rules.” He motioned toward Keith. “The one allowed to kill.” The he motioned to Lance. “The one destined to save.”

Lance shook his head a little and looked back at Yu Di once again. “You have that backwards. We are not chaos. He is not death, and I am not life. He is not darkness, and I am not light.” His tail curved around him, scales black, though there was no corruption in his heart.

“Suzaku is the sun. He is the light that banishes the darkness. I am the abyss, Yu Di. I am the emptiness and the nothing you are afraid of becoming. I bring cold and death. He brings warmth and life.” He narrowed his dragon eyes. “You cannot control him. You cannot control me. You cannot control Genbu or Byakko, and as much as you’d like to control Kouryuu, you cannot. Our child protects him from you just as he protects her. You are nothing now. You’ve sacrificed your own children for a future you do not have.”

“How poetic.” Yu Di gave a fanged grin. “And you believe all that?” He turned his yellowed eyes to Keith. “Oh. I know you don’t. You’ve never been the optimistic type. You know the hearts of people and the hearts of gods. Intimately.” A serpentine grin stretched the ancient’s mouth to impossible lengths. Showing an array of dragon sharp teeth, rotten and black.

“Suzaku is the sun you say?” Yu Di chuckled. “And you’re the, what’s the word? Abyss? Little godling. Go take your poetry to the writers of hymns and mantras. You’ve been on earth so long you’ve started to believe the legends about you.” Yu Di laughed coldly and approached Lance, tilting his head up to him.

“Don’t!” Keith reached out and in a second his body flew through the air, breaking through a pillar and slamming against the brick and mortar outer wall. 

“Keith!?” Shiro’s knees moved to run to his charge but he stayed put.

“Fight me. Abyss. Fight me and see what happens to those you love. Fight me and see who has control.” Yu Di’s eyes shimmered and his age melted from his face, showing a man in his early fifties, then forties.

“You were never good at illusions, Yu Di. And you were always really bad at letting your jealousy get the best of you.” Lance didn’t even flinch as Keith was flung into the air. He stood his ground and stared down at the fake God-Emperor. “You made that clear when you punished Zhinu. When you betrayed the four rivers by denying the world rain. When you destroyed your own successor because you did not want him to be worshipped more than you were.” Black scales appeared on Lance’s neck and jaw, covering his chin as his fangs grew. “And even now, your jealousy grows. You mock my words because you think I put too much into what the humans say about me, but to the humans, I am not what you see before you.” 

Lance’s eyes flashed, the red pupils appearing. “The abyss doesn’t fight. You know that as well as I do. It sits, and it waits for its prey to sink into the darkness. And the more you try to taunt me, by hurting me, my friends, or my lover, the more you sink into it.” His eyes began to glow. The longer he kept Yu Di’s attention, the better.

Pidge slipped out from behind Shiro and went to where Keith had fallen, helping him up and frowning. “What is he doing? Is he being this stupid on purpose?”

“No.” Keith hissed. “He’s always stupid, and sometimes it works out to his advantage.” He sat up and brushed the dust out of his hair. “He’s doing that he does best.”

“And what’s that?” Pidge lifted the bird up to his feet.

“Talk.” Keith looked around the room, noting Shiro had already placed the turtle’s shield over the two smaller gods. “Flank right. Be obvious but not aggressive. Understand?” 

Pidge blinked, then smiled. “Got it.”

“Can you-” 

“Already on it.” Pidge’s eyes glittered with excitement. She’d never been included on these missions before. She was always ‘the one at the desk.’ Keith ruffled her hair.

“I’ll buy you a large Tuna steak after this.” Keith winked. 

Lance’s tail twitched behind him, but he kept his eyes on Yu Di. He knew he was getting to him. The oldest god’s jaw was set, and he hadn’t changed his illusion since he was called out on it. The dragon smirked slightly. “You should just give in, Yu Di. You know you want to. Deep down, you want it all to be over, so you can stop wasting energy fighting the inevitable.” His hands changed into his dragon paws, blood dripping from the ends as they did whenever he shifted like this. Perhaps if he showed Yu Di that he was fine even without his claws, it would knock him down a peg.

“Give up? You’re the one who should give up.” With a sweeping gesture, Yu Di motioned to where Keith was still laying on the ground. 

“Because you threw him and knocked him out? Have you ever been able to keep him down for long?” Lance added a little to Pidge’s illusion, making the prone Keith try to push himself up off the ground a little before he fell back with a groan.

“Do you think I’m so easily fooled, little whelp?” With a wave of his hand the illusion by the wall vanished and Pidge became dreadfully exposed at the far side of the room. 

“Eep!” Bolts of energy shot out at the small goddess, and for every one that came at her a giant oak grew in seconds to hide the tiger. The trees became a tiny thicket of cover, breaking through the ceiling, and forcing dust and brick into room and around the small gathering. Shingles fell inside and shattered with loud cracks against the marble floor as moonlight started to filter into the room. The debris settled against a group of two small personalized shields around Lance and Shiro. 

“Shit.” Shiro cursed looking about the room, force bolts blowing past him, but as he dodged another his legs got swept up, tossing him to the opposite side of the room. 

“Why would I give up?” Yu Di grinned, and reached back to swing his arm out at Lance but he faltered. The smile on his face twisting in a horrid toothy mask of pain. The end of a black blade protruded from his stomach, twisted around, and vanished before it came back out. Crooked fingers wrapped around the blade holding it tight as though he couldn’t register what had just happened.

“Or just go ahead and die.” Keith whispered, his violet eyes glowing from the shadows over Yu Di’s shoulders as if he’d appeared and became one within them. 

“The earth can never defeat the stars.” Lance murmured as he grabbed Yu Di’s cheeks, smearing his blood on them and staining his beard. His clawless fingertips dug into the skin there, though they could not actually pierce his flesh. But they grew bluer, and colder, as he started to chill his skin.

Shiro pushed himself up off the ground, shaking dust and crumbled stone from his head. He quickly gained a visual of Pidge and saw her staring wide eyed at the very scene that now dropped Shiro’s jaw. The two young gods were grappling with Yu Di. “Shit…”

The old god roared with a force such a frail body should have mustered and the god grew. Carrying Suzaku up with it. Great golden scales sliced open his flesh and rippled down his whole body. The force of the explosive girth pushed Lance back where Shiro could catch him, and they watched helplessly as the great Jade Emperor’s body filled the whole space of the palace. His long serpentine body coiling and twisting against pillars and stairs, crushing everything to make room. 

White whiskers took up Keith in their twisting tendrils. The bird squirmed and snarled, his wings flapping uselessly to pull away. “Yu Di!” Keith fought with the vine like hairs as they wrapped tighter around his body, forcing the wings down almost to their breaking point. His sword still sat impaled inside the large god.

The room quieted. Yu Di’s roar died into a deafening silence of ringing ears, and the young vermillion god hung like a marionette from the monster’s whiskers. “Now this looks familiar.” The voice roared. “Do you remember it?” Keith replied with a snarling growl. “Maybe not, you were probably delusional at that point.” Mock sympathy laced Yu Di’s graveled words. 

“Seiryuu, do you remember? No? Hmm maybe something to help.”

Keith felt it. He didn’t need to see it. From the emerald underbelly of the beast, something started to grow. It started to reach for him. He knew the sensation, the cold touch of an alien like creature reaching into his body. The touch against his skin was ephemeral. Nails and claws pushed through him seeking out the ethereal. Keith gasped when they found it, poisoned tipped talons digging at his soul. Racking insipid nails over the core of his very self. He heard himself then. A scream in his own ears in a voice he hadn’t heard since the day they were cast out.

A loud roar left Lance’s throat, and his body violently thrust itself from Shiro’s arms. The dark-skinned man was no more, but in his stead was the large now black form of Seiryuu. He would not let that bastard hurt Suzaku again. And he lunged for him, horns aimed for that underbelly. He would protect his love even if it killed him. All seven of his mansions glowed a bright silver, like the moon against the blackest of nights, and a wave of his power pushed forward, driving that healing energy towards Suzaku. The dragon wasn’t stupid. He knew he didn’t have the combat prowess needed to wrestle his love from the Jade Emperor’s grasp, and knew he couldn’t really heal the damage the bastard was doing to Keith, but he could give the bird more of what the power he needed to free himself.

The power of Seiryuu’s attack thrust the Emperor’s head back, and as he gouged through the god, more of the earth started to crumble and shake. 

“Keith!” Pidge’s eyes widened as he saw the tiny humanoid god get tossed to the side with another hit from Seiryuu. “Shiro!”

Shiro didn’t need the command. In a second he had captured Keith and transported him back to where Pidge waited in the trees. “Shit shit. Keith, hey buddy you there?”

Keith groaned, his eyes weakly opening as he looked up at Genbu and Byakko. “Seiryuu?” He turned his head over Shiro’s arm and saw a giant black dragon and the Jade Emperor twisted together. “He can’t.” 

“Settle down here a little.” Shiro touched Keith’s forehead the color in his face draining. “You have nothing left. He took it from you.”

“My mansions are still-“

“Doesn’t matter if you have them. He took your ability to use them. You have no life force left. He-“ Shiro watched in dismal horror as the golden dragon appeared more vibrant and vivacious than before despite the damage Lance was doing to him. 

Seiryuu howled again and this time dug his horns deep into the belly of the Golden form. “I will not let you take them from him!” He snarled and clutched at his opponent, his tail twisting around him like a vice. 

“What…is he doing?” Pidge was staring up at the two dueling dragons with wide eyes. “He’s…”

Seiryuu growled when he saw blue scales shimmering on the golden dragon’s shoulder. He whipped his head around and sliced at them with his horns. “Stop taking what’s not yours!” Another growl and he rammed his head into those scales again, this time clamping his jaw down, fangs piercing scale and flesh as he tore them away from the offender. There was a jolt that ran through him. A wave. He felt it, and he accepted it. He felt those ten scales in his mouth. He felt them rejoin his body. 

But those scales, even as they reformed into his claws, were tainted. Corrupted by the Jade Emperor’s greed and madness. 

“Oh? Did you think I would give those to you so easily?” The echoing voice of the golden dragon rang in Seiryuu’s ears. “You were never going to be able to defeat me.”

Seiryuu’s jaw slackened, and he dug his claws into Yu Di’s sides. “No. I never intended to defeat you.” He growled as another pulse of corruption wracked through him, and the blackened scales seemed to be giving up their color, some of that poison staining the golden scales around him. “But at least I saved her from you…” His form wavered, and the dragon was no more.

“Seiryuu!” Shiro moved quickly, catching the unconscious man before he hit the ground. There was blackened blood seeping from the corners of Lance’s mouth, and he was barely breathing. But after a moment, his eyes slowly opened and he turned his head towards Keith. “I’m…I’m okay. I just turned his own poison against him…” 

Keith’s eyes widened and he turned his head back to the Yu Di. Lance had certainly done just as he said, and scales were rapidly darkening, but for every scale that turned black another scale turned gold and then it was for everyone black scale, two more gold would appear. This wasn’t the answer. This wasn’t going to work. 

“Lance.” Keith crawled over to him. “When you see the opportunity. I need you to shoot. No matter what happens.” He leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Put everything you can into that one shot.” 

“Keith.” Shiro started forward but stopped at the look in the bird’s eye. 

“Get him out of here. That’s your one job. When Yu Di goes, this whole place is gonna go with it.” Keith didn’t leave room for debate.

“What about you?”

“I’ll figure something out. I can fly. Just get him out.” Keith commanded.

“O-okay.” Shiro moved closer to Lance, Pidge beside him.

Keith stood up and rounded his shoulders. Bright fire glazed wings spreading wide from his back. “Yu Di. We’re done here. This place. Your people. They’ve all abandoned you or you’ve killed them for their loyalty.” Yu Di was beyond sanity at this point, the power to fight the corruption inside taking most of his facilities. 

Net and Star blazed up on Keith’s body and Wing ignited a fury of flames from the God’s back. He took to the air, soaring up to be level with the semi sized snout of the Ancient lord. Lassos of flame spread from his wings each end holding a shadowed dagger emblazed with a purple star. First ten, then twenty blade-edged ropes wrapped around the thrashing god as Keith’s body grew brighter and hotter. Stars seen through the broken roof, blazed with halos of light and in seconds silver spears shot down from the heavens and held the Jade Emperor down.

Tears fell from Lance’s eyes as Shiro and Pidge helped him to his feet. His longbow formed in his hands, and he nocked an arrow of the brightest moonlight. His body glowed a pale blue, the symbols of his seven mansions seeming to peel off his skin and wrap around the arrow as he drew. 

Without breathing, he let go, that purest of arrows growing in size, pulling wisps of light from the stones that littered the garden. Every color from every type of god that had been destroyed by the Jade Emperor. Souls wrapping around moonlight. They were once loyal to Yu Di, but now they served a new emperor. One who just wanted to love and be loved. One who never wanted to control or hurt others. 

That streak of light pierced through the body of the golden dragon, sparking a reaction that caused his body to writhe and struggle. Each scale’s golden light dulled only to be replaced with silver light as each streak burst out of his body, destroying him from the inside.

Lance fell to his knees, his bow gone, his breath coming in sharp, panting gasps.

Each wiping soul slid past Keith, swirling around him and taking his light upon themselves, purified by his spark and then there was silence. Keith’s body fell to the stone floor. His wings broken in the fall and dulled. The gemstone feathers cracked no longer able to capture a single glint of light.

There was no energy left in Lance’s body, but he still managed to fling himself to Keith’s side, trembling hands reaching to touch his lover’s cheeks as the tears dripped off his chin and onto Keith’s skin. “I…I can’t…”

Keith searched the room blindly for a moment before falling on Lance with a glimmer of joy sparking inside. “H-hey. Lance. Good shot.” His eye lids felt so heavy, he struggled to keep them open. It wasn’t time yet. He didn’t want to succumb. 

Lance’s tears fell faster and he leaned down to place a kiss to his lips, shuddering breaths causing his own lips to tremble. “Keith…I…”

“Mnn.” Keith nuzzled to the warmth of Lance’s lips, letting it chase away the creeping cold in his own body. “I know.” He whispered. “Remember, the moon is reflection of the sun. You’ve always been my sun. My warmth. I shone brightly because you gave me your light.” Keith’s words trailed down into a whisper. “Don’t grow cold, love. Allura will need you to be her sun and her stars. And all that gives her life.” 

“I can’t…” Lance whimpered and kept his fingers on Keith’s cheeks. He tried to heal him, but all his power was spent. Though even if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to stop this anyway. “I can’t without you…”

“Stupid Lizard. You have to.” Pain sharp and swift moved through Keith as though every breath taken, pulled on a final taut thread. He saw them. The spirits holding their hands out to him. His eyes closed again, sweet darkness wrapping blanket around him, heavy like a stone, first cold then hot. It didn’t hurt through, not any more. “You’re strong. You’ll show her how to be strong like you.” His voice sounded miles away to his own ears.

“I’m not strong.” Lance’s body started to tremble as he tried to choke back his sobs. “Don’t go…I’ll do anything if you stay with me…” His chest hurt, and he could feel the chill returning to his heart. He couldn’t be anything good without Keith.

“I’m so sorry. My Dragon.” Tears squeezed through trembling eye lids. Keith fought to open them, but the more he struggled the colder his body became. He knew he had to let go. He’d drift off into the unknown, never see their daughter grow up, never to hear Lance laugh. This wasn’t the ending he wanted. If an eternity could be returned to him, he could never show Lance or tell him how much he meant to him. He had to let go. The longer he held on the longer Lance sat by his side. 

“You have to go now.” He didn’t want him to leave. But their child. Their friends. They all needed Lance. They would help him heal. “You’re my heart. As long as yours beats, I’ll be with you. You are my strength. So be hers. I love you.” A cut and a silken ribbon falling to the floor was the sound of Suzaku’s last breath. “Always…”

Shiro stood slack jawed, Pidge crying mutely into his hip. All he could do, all any of them could was watch as the strong, lively form of Suzaku fade into gray delicate pieces of ash. He could still hear his laughter as they joked over Hunk’s sandwiches. His growl as they sparred. The tender boyish wonder for every new thing he encountered. In a tremble of earth and a kiss of wind it started to blow away. All of it. 

Lance watched Keith’s ashes fall through his fingers. An anguished cry escaped his throat and echoed off the walls and pillars, which were starting to crumble now that the god-king was gone. Lance collapsed onto the pile of ashes and clutched at it, crying out Keith’s name over and over again. His fingers found the red and gold ring, now tainted by ash, and he gripped it like it was his only lifeline. He couldn’t leave him like this. Keith couldn’t be gone.

Shiro looked around and shook his head. “We have to go now.” He grabbed Lance, even as the younger god started hitting him to let him go. “We have to! For Allura! Lance don’t be stupid!” 

A sinkhole opened right next to them, and Pidge yelped, clutching Shiro’s arm. “Shiro! Now!”

Without being told twice, Shiro teleported them to the bridge, where the four dragons were waiting for them. He set Lance down on the ground and crouched, resting his hands on his shoulders. “Lance. We don’t have time. You have to cross that bridge. I can’t carry you over it.”

“Leave me here…” Lance’s eyes were dull, and his voice lacked any emotion, and no sound came out of his mouth even as Pidge slapped him. 

“Idiot! We need to go!”

“You are not going!” A roar shook the earth where the four gods stood, and all eyes moved to the center of the growing sinkhole. 

“No way.” Pidge stepped back, shaking her head.

“Through the gate! NOW!” Shiro cried, grabbing Lance by the collar. 

A giant gold and black scaled hand reached up from the deep, fire and lava pooling from the earth around it. “I Will NOT BE-“ The scream was cut off and turned into tortured cry of rage and agony as fire raged and roiled inside the pit. Molten rocks and pillars of smoke rose from the growing lava bed. Red lights streaked across the sky as burning rubble crashed into the wretched monsters still trying to escape or attack the small crew at the gates. 

Yinglong calmly hoisted Lance up, some of his hair starting to freeze from the cold temperatures radiating from the Dragon of the East. “I will take him.”

“We’ll help!” The three children chimed in. One grabbed Lance’s hand, the other two started to push him towards the bridge. The four dragons were the only ones who could touch Seiryuu right now. The god was completely lost in his own despair, and was completely oblivious to everything around him.

Pidge moved first, stepping onto the bridge and holding her hand out to Shiro. “Let’s go while it’s collapsing on itself!”

Fire continued to rain down from the sky with no care of friend or foe. “Everyone! MOVE!” Shiro pulled up the rear getting everyone he could to the bridge. A sizzling popping screech filled the air and his eyes widened. His face ignited in a red burning glow as large explosion of light and flame appeared at the center of the gate. He ran forward and raised his arms to shield everyone from the sudden burst of heat.

“Shiro… Look.” Shiro opened his tightly closed eyes and looked down at Pidge. Her whole form shielded by his body, the small goddess mirrored his protection over the smallest of the dragons. Genbu followed where Pidge pointed and his heart jumped into his chest. “Seiryuu!” He called back to the dragon behind them. “Seiryuu!”

Before them all stood a great flaming bird. Shades of red glimmered like light from a setting sun with deep crimson feathers fading into twilight down each quill. Wings opened to a gust of wind, blowing more debris away from the small gathering of bestial deities. Ruby, amber, gold, sapphire, and every precious gem known to the eyes of man shone with a brilliance of their light against expanse of those mighty wings.

A caw shrieked through the air before every last bit of airborne flame died with its command. 

Lance’s eyes widened, which only made the tears fall faster, though they froze to his cheeks before they fell off his chin. He pulled himself away from his cousins and the others and took a few steps towards the bird, his hands trembling. Was it really Suzaku? Was he alive?

The bird jumped, his talons covered with blood as they tapped on the floor. It was no wonder what manner of hell the creature went through to stand before them. Fierce ruby eyes narrowed down to every last person on the bridge, gauging their threat until the hard gaze fell upon the small humanoid god. Dark skinned, soft eyes, yet pained. So pained. As he approached, the bird backed away feeling the cold from Lance. 

That was it. It was too much for Lance, and he just fell to his knees, his whole body just seeming to shatter under the weight of that slight rejection. He fell forward, catching himself on his hands, ice slowly spreading across his back as though they were his scales. The ground around him started to crackle as it chilled. It would be better if he just froze here. Let Heaven collapse around him.

“Lance!” Shiro shouted and started forward, but Pidge grabbed his arm and stopped him, shaking her head.

The bird arched his head up and looked at the other two flesh bound creatures and blinked. Its head cocked to one side, and then the other. Lance. It knew the name Lance. This little one. This tiny creature. So small. So sweet. So cold. So hurt. The icey proximity hurt the great bird, but slowly his head bent down. It hesitated against the pain and yet, with its smooth varnished beak, it came to nuzzle the chilled body. A soft whisper filling the air around them like a warm embrace. ‘Lance.’

The ice melted. The chill faded. Lance lifted his head to look up at the bird. “Keith… Suzaku…” He tried to calm himself, but he couldn’t, so he just lifted his hands and touched that razor sharp beak. “Did…you come back to me? Or…Or am I dreaming?” Tears flowed unchecked from his eyes, but this time the bird’s warmth prevented them from freezing.

In response the bird nuzzled his hands again, the break clicking together. ‘I’ve never been this way for you.’ The air spoke, the voice was and wasn’t Keith’s. It was male and female. Warm and kind. Regal enough to make the tiny whelps bow their long serpentine necks in reverence.

“No…No you haven’t.” Lance’s hands trembled as he gently stroked that beak. “Are…you going to leave me again?”

A tender trill escaped the bird and its feathers ruffled. ‘No. I am the god of death and rebirth. I brought the souls beyond and returned to you, as is my choice. I protected us both. Returned us both to you. As is also my choice.’

“Then…you’ll come with me?” Lance blinked, and his tears dried. “Both? What do you mean both?”

Pidge cleared her throat. “We need to cross. Hunk can’t hold the bridge open forever. And he needs to close it before heaven collapses completely, or we’re stuck!” 

Suzaku’s head darted up and then looked back to the door before it nodded. ‘Chose a memory. Be quick.’ The voices urged. 

In that moment, an image flashed in his head. One of Keith, smiling as he cradled Allura in his arms, looking at Lance and saying something loving, though in his memory, Lance couldn’t hear the words. He just looked up at Suzaku, “I don’t understand…?”

‘You don’t need to.’ Suzaku flashed brightly becoming all fire and heat as it had when the bird first appeared. As it dissipated, a form came into view, laid bare upon the ground. Ebony hair, pale white skin, and a slender toned body of a twenty something human male.

“Keith!” Lance quickly yanked his shirt off and draped it over him once he scooped Keith up into his arms, holding him closer. His love’s revival and reappearance had also given him back his will to live. “Let’s go.” He moved, not even glancing over his shoulder at the others, since he knew they would follow. He didn’t stop until his feet were firmly on the ground on the other side of the celestial bridge, and he held Keith as close as he could.

Hunk was standing there, holding Allura, both of their eyes wide. “Holy crap! Are you okay?”

Shiro ran down along the bridge, holding what he could of Lance’s family while Pidge ran past everyone. “Close it close it close it close it close it!” She chanted until she was safely behind Hunk.

Shiro dove off the bridge and rolled just as everything shut down. He hugged the small creatures to him as he panted for breath. “Never. Going. There. Again! Ever!”

“Okay, yeah but… Keith’s naked.” Hunk pointed to the two beasts still standing at the edge of the river, with Lance clutching the body of his lover tightly to his chest. 

Lance held Keith as close as he could without hurting the other man, his lips buried in his hair as he sat on the ground, sniffling a bit, still covering Keith as best he could with his shirt.

“Let’s get them inside.” Pidge shook her head and walked over to the two of them. “Lance?”

He pulled his face from Keith’s hair and looked at her, but then he nodded and carefully stood, still cradling Keith to him. He said nothing else as he looked over at Hunk and Allura, managing a teary-eyed smile for his daughter before he carried Keith inside.

The three little dragon children were standing by Hunk, now that Shiro had caught his breath and let them go. “Princess!”

“Inside, everyone.” Shiro started pushing them all towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)


	18. When the Ink Dries and Time Moves on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find Art For this Story Here
> 
> [ **Seiryuu & Suzaku** ](https://68.media.tumblr.com/9a5d6930b0036795fb61a64caab27ab9/tumblr_owsm8mGoBd1skawldo1_1280.png)  
> [ **A Time of Peace** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/49f9f9f94128d33b17add59e98696e31/tumblr_inline_ozaad8vs2v1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **In the Beginning He was Nothing** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4936a8807d323a6101a430d5ea556f0f/tumblr_inline_p0ef1gwyEP1rvlhug_540.png)  
> [ **Home is Where the Heart is** ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/d6df30923bcaa482e78223378c989c5c/tumblr_p2w0izOLAA1skawldo1_1280.png)
> 
> Art completed by: [autumn-sacura](http://autumn-sacura.tumblr.com/)

Lance sat on the edge of the bed and watched Keith sleep. Allura was nestled against Keith’s chest and sleeping as well, and they both looked so calm and peaceful. One needed the rest after the physical turmoil he had gone through, the other was just cute and innocent and seemed to like napping with her daddy. He looked down at his hands. Even though he had shifted into his full dragon form, his fingers didn’t hurt. His claws had been returned, his lover had returned, and he had his child. He was whole, though he didn’t feel like it. 

He was jealous of their peaceful rest. He couldn’t help it. Every time he closed his eyes, the scenes from the morning burned into his brain. He saw Yu Di torment Suzaku’s soul again. He heard that scream echoing in the back of his mind. He felt the ashes against his skin when his love literally turned to dust in his arms. It hurt. Every repeat of those events felt like a knife piercing his heart. 

Maybe he should have asked Hunk to seal those memories, so he wouldn’t keep seeing them over and over again, but he knew the Earth Dragon would refuse. The only reason he had taken their memories of the egg so long ago was to protect them all from Yu Di. Now that the ancient god was no more, Hunk wouldn’t use that power again, so Lance knew asking was pointless.

He knew the others were concerned for him. He could see it in their faces when he carried Keith to their room. Shiro had already come up to check on them, but Lance suspected it was to check on him more than it was to check on Keith. But Lance did what he did best. He lied and told Shiro everything was fine, that he wasn’t tired. He smiled, and made it the most convincing smile by using his water manipulation. Shiro seemed satisfied, and said he would tell the others everything was okay now. Lance let him go, and didn’t refute anything. It would be okay, right? Everything was finally okay?

So why couldn’t he feel that way?

The bed shifted, and a soft groan edging on a whimper accompanied the whisper of sheets. Keith blinked awake, lacking the fortitude to open his eyes right away. The newly recreated organs were sensitive to even the dimmest of light filtering through the room. He saw Seiryuu sitting at the edge. He bit back his urge to pout. Lance should be curled up around him and his child, not sitting there looking so out of place. 

“Hey man.” Keith whispered, sitting up slowly so he didn’t disturb the sleeping princess. 

Lance looked up from his hands and turned his head towards Keith. “You should sleep more. You need the rest.” He shifted, but didn’t move closer just yet. “Are you hungry? I can get you some food.”

Keith took in the room. They were still in Canada with Pidge and Hunk. “I’m starving, but I don’t want you to leave.” Keith sat up straighter, slowly letting Allura slide down his chest until he cradled in her in his arm. Her tail wrapped possessively around his wrist. Keith chuckled. Definitely Lance’s child. 

“How is everyone?” Keith’s voice sounded weaker than he felt. He still needed break in the new vocal cords. 

“I don’t have to leave…I can just call for someone…” Lance shook his head slightly and looked back down at his hands. “Everyone is fine. The kids came back with us, too.”

“Hm. You?” Keith arched an eye up at Lance through the thick mane of black hair. He’d have to get it cut soon, it was falling over his shoulders and around his face.

“What about me?” Lance knew what Keith was asking, he just didn’t want to answer. 

“How are you doing?” Keith tapped Lance’s side with his foot. He had to stretch, but it was the only way he’d be allowed to touch the dragon if he was going to stay on the edge of the bed like that. 

“I’m doing.” Lance shook his head a little and kept staring at his hands, which were starting to tremble, so he clenched them to get it to stop.

Keith observed him and laid Allura down on the flat of a pillow before he crawled over to him, his bare arms wrapping around Lance’s shoulders as his face nuzzled into his neck, exposing his scent to the morose god. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, letting the vibration of his voice carry into Lance’s shoulder from his throat. 

“I scared you, I’m sorry. I don’t remember much after I fell. I woke up in your arms. There were flashes of fire, heat, and blood but…” Keith shook his head. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Please don’t apologize…” Lance sighed and felt himself sink a little into Keith’s arms. “It…makes me feel bad for making you feel bad. You didn’t do anything you need to apologize for.” He closed his eyes to keep the tears from falling. “What’s important is that you’re here now. That he can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Yet here you are, hurting.” Keith turned Lance’s head toward him with a gentle pull of a finger at his jaw. “You are the most precious thing to me. You, my family, our friends. If you hurt, I hurt.” Keith kissed his thin lips. The pressure so light. As if those tender lips were unsure of how much they could handle. 

Lance’s eyes opened, and the tears fell. “I…I keep hearing the way you screamed when he attacked your soul again. It…It was so much worse than the first time.” He sighed and turned so he could wrap his arms around Keith as though it was the only thing that could keep him from collapsing, even though he was already sitting down. “And…You…” He pressed his face into Keith’s shoulder. “You turned to ash in my arms…”

“I know. That’s why I’m sorry. You had to relive something terrible.” Keith pushed his fingers through Lance’s hair, tender strokes relishing in the feel of his sandy locks. “I honestly didn’t know I’d come back like this. Or at all. I wasn’t trying to trick you.”

“I…I thought I lost you forever.” Lance continued to cling to him. “But then you came back, and I am relieved and happy about that. I really am. I just can’t…I can’t stop hearing and seeing it. I’m afraid to try to sleep because it’ll come back again.” 

“I’m here. I can’t protect you from memories. But I’m here now. I’m yours. You’re mine. We have our daughter and your cousins to take care of.” Keith nuzzled the top of his head. “Nothing can hurt us anymore. You delivered the killing blow to Yu Di.” Keith kept his voice soft. “You know what that means?” 

Lance sniffled. “Really? He’s really gone, right? We…We don’t have to fight, or hide, or be separated anymore?” He slowly lifted his head and looked at him. There was another meaning behind Keith’s question, but Lance didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t. It wasn’t important. His life with his family was the only thing that mattered now.

“No. We don’t. He’s gone. Shiro explained a few things to me earlier.” Keith let his fingers slide over the shell of Lance’s ears. He liked how they were almost too big for his head. He’d let his earlier statement hang in the air. Lance didn’t want to think about what their actions meant. Lance usurped an emperor, meaning he was technically the new emperor of heaven, though there wasn’t much of a heaven to rule. “Whatever was left was destroyed by the violence of my rebirth. Or something.” Keith shrugged. “That’s not an ability I’d ever used before, and one I don’t plan on using again.”

“I don’t think I could survive it if you used it again…” Lance looked at him, the tears still sliding down his cheeks. “I almost didn’t survive it this time, but…” He glanced over at Allura. “You needed me to take care of her…”

“She needs you to take care of her.” Keith moved and slipped around Lance, pushing the taller man to the bed as he straddled over him. His wings erupted from his back with all the brilliant colors nature and Lance had given him, and he laid himself down. His head nestled against Lance’s chest, the whole of his body pressed snuggly against his lover. “I won’t. It was terrifying. But then I saw you...”

“You didn’t know who I was though…” Lance looked up at him, letting Keith move him or do whatever he wanted to do. He felt a little warmer when those wings came out, and he looked at each of the colors, trying to force his brain to accept that everything was going to be okay. “I…I will be okay. I just…”

“I knew you, but I wasn’t completely me then. Your cold hurt, but I wanted to be near you.” Keith curled in a little tighter, trying to give Lance the hint until he finally just said it. “Hold me. Damn it.” Keith barked as he snuggled in, watching as Allura wiggled, fluffed her wings, then cuddled up to sleep again. “As tightly as you need to. I’m here. I’m okay. I’m whole.”

“Sorry…” Lance wrapped his arms around Keith and sighed, looking off to the side. “Don’t be mad at me…”

“I’m not. I’m mad at myself for doing this to you.” Keith encased his wings around them, tips folded over each other at his heels. 

“You didn’t do anything to me…He did…And he’s dead now. I just don’t know how to cope.”

“No one said you have to do it all in one day.” Keith closed his eyes. 

“I know, but you keep apologizing for something you don’t have to apologize for.” Lance turned his head back to Keith and looked up at him. “I just need you to love me.”

“I do.” Keith nuzzled his chest. 

“Kyaa!” Keith blinked up at a high pitched squeal followed by a thump in time to see Allura flop on the god’s face. The little one couldn’t walk, but he never was one to question the development speed of a Child god. He did, however, start laughing at the sight in front of him.

Lance was about to say something when his daughter just rolled herself onto his face. “Ack!” He let go of Keith to lift her off him, holding her up a bit so he could breathe. “And what do you think you’re doing?”

“Kyaa!” A delighted squeal escaped her cupid bow lips as her hands reached for Lance’s face, her tail trashing wildly behind her with fluttering snow white wings.

“You’re laying down at her level. You’re fair game.” Keith answered as he pushed himself up on his arms. 

Lance looked up at her and held her just high enough that she couldn’t quite touch his face. He smiled a little, an actual smile that reached his eyes, before he lowered her so she could pat his cheeks, which she did with happy little squeals. “I don’t mind,” he whispered before he turned his head to look at Keith, not even wincing when Allura grabbed some of his hair and started pulling. “So…Now what?”

“You call someone to get her and I something to eat.” Keith laid his head down on Lance’s shoulder. “I’m starving.”

Lance blinked, but he nodded and pulled Allura down so he could hold her close and put an arm around Keith. “Hey Coran?”

“Yes?” The chipper voice echoed from somewhere in the room. It was kind of creepy to think about how the house was always listening, but Pidge assured him the A.I. didn’t actually hear or record anything until his name was called.

“Would you tell Hunk that Keith and Allura are hungry, and we need food and formula?” Lance made a face. It was weird talking to nothing. 

“On it!” The voice chimed, and then the room was silent again.

“So much for the days of the mighty hunter gatherer.” Keith chuckled. “I should get some real clothes on before they deliver it, hmm?” He sat up, his hand resting against his stomach for a second. “I should go for a run after breakfast. When you said I was looking softer I didn’t take you literally. All this ‘road’ food is taking a toll.” Keith stood up and stretched his body out. Apparently this body was an exact replica of the one he left, and he’d been punished for his bad eating habits by getting a bit soft around the edges.

“I figured from the way you laid on me, you didn’t want me to get up.” Lance watched him, but then he shook his head. “You don’t need to go for a run, Keith. You need to rest.”

“I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing.” Keith walked about the room and grabbed one of Pidge’s specifically made robes. He slipped it on, the red silken material whispering about his body as he easily flapped his wings with through holes in back. 

“Pidge has the most convenient stuff.” Keith sat back on the bed poking Allura’s nose. “And we’ll make sure all your clothes do the same.” The girl crossed her opal eyes.

“Are you kidding me? With all the exertion you’ve done, you think you’ve rested more?” Lance sat up and handed Allura over to Keith, watching him for a moment. “You need to rest and eat good, healthy food. You need to take it easy. Stop pushing yourself, please…”

Keith quirked a brow at Lance and juggled Allura to lay better in his arms. She was content to sit there dazed by the moving colors in her father’s wings. “I’m not pushing myself. I just feel… restless. I guess. Twitchy. But…” Keith trailed off and sighed. “Yeah. I feel spent too. But that’s expected.”

“No…No Keith it’s more than just…” Lance shook his head. “You’re going to lay another egg…” His cheeks flushed faintly. He had wanted to be more delicate with the revelation, but he knew Keith wouldn’t listen to him about resting unless he was blunt.

“Eh?” Keith blinked his arm squeezing Allura enough to make her squeak in warning, but not in pain.

“Your exhaustion wasn’t from purifying me. I mean maybe a little was, but…” Lance blushed more. “We made another one…”

Keith made a point to look down at his own body then back at Lance’s. “H-how?” 

“The same way we made Allura!” Lance’s ears went red. “What do you mean how? We’ve done it a lot…and…” He shook his head a little as though it would clear the embarrassment. “You had a season…”

“But, I’m human… and male… and…” Keith blinked down at the little bundle in his arms then back at Lance. “That night… in the storage room…after getting my first mansion back… my wings changed…” 

“And we’re not really human…” Lance nodded a little. “We already had a mansion back at that point, and so…” He bowed his head. “Should I apologize?”

“Wha-what? No! No, I’m just…” Keith set the squirming child down on the bed between the two of them, watching as she went for Lance’s tail. “I just…” His hand laid upon his stomach. “After everything. I-is it healthy? Is it okay? Did I hurt it!? I mean… I died… I just…” He ran a hand through his hair thinking of all the stupid things he’d done since that night in Minnesota. 

Lance glanced at Allura and flopped the tip of his tail for her before turning back to Keith. He watched him for a moment before he took his hand. “It’s healthy. It’s okay. You didn’t hurt it.” He smiled and looked at him. “I felt it when we got back, and Pidge confirmed it. Everything is fine. You even kind of told me when you were in your huge bird form.” He brought Keith’s hand to his lips and kissed his fingers. 

“L-lance.” Keith turned up to Lance’s face. “I told you… I… It’s healthy?” He wrapped his arms around his stomach protectively. “Still. I should have been more careful.”

“You were as careful as you could be.” Lance touched his cheek and smiled. “But you have to promise me you won’t push yourself hm?”

Keith nodded his head, staring up at Lance. “Fertility god, huh? You could even get a guy pregnant.” He shook his head and nuzzled Lance’s hand. “I got this one more time. After that? We’ll see you with an egg.” 

Lance blinked. “Does…it bother you? I mean we can try to give me an egg too.” His brows furrowed a little. “Or are you trying to tease me?”

“I’m joking. It doesn’t bother me.” Keith leaned in and nuzzled Lance’s jaw. “If it’s yours, I’m happy to carry it. Besides, I’ve never seen you go into heat.” He nibbled along the sharp line, then blinked when he noticed to very wide innocent eyes looking up at him. Keith blushed and backed away, plucking their daughter up and hoisting her in the air watching her wings flap comically before he caught her in a massive bear hug. 

Lance pouted a little when the kissing stopped, but then he shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t go into heat. I only react to you when you do. Because you’re mine.” He reached up and ruffled Allura’s hair, then poked Keith’s cheek before he got up to walk to the door.

Hunk was about to knock when the door opened, and he yelped. “Lance!”

“I could smell the food. Thanks Hunk.” Lance took the formula first and held it back behind himself so Keith could grab it, taking the tray of food in his other hand.

“And…everything is okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Lance smiled faintly.

Keith took the formula and swooped Allura up in the curve of his wing as he handed her the bottle. Having an extra set of appendages did wonders for his parenting skills. Keith smiled softly at Hunk and nodded his head.

Hunk blinked, blushing a little and turning his head back to Lance. “Dude, seriously? I mean I get it an all. But seriously?” Hunk didn’t need equipment to tell him anything. He knew from the moment he saw Keith on the RV. He felt the aura of another life in his realm as acutely as one senses a stranger in their home. But way less scary. “I thought you knew! I mean he was all pretty and all… and smells sweet and stuff… then again… I guess a lot of things were going on.”

“How could I have known? Neither of us remembered making the first one in the first place.” Lance shrugged a little, but then he smirked and poked Hunk’s chest with his free hand, still balancing the tray with his other. “And you’re not exactly one to talk.”

“What?” Hunk stared at him.

“When was the last time you checked on Pidge?” Lance’s grin widened.

“Huh!?” Hunk’s face flashed several different shades of red. “It’s not. We’re not. We..” When it looked like Hunk couldn’t handle it any more, he ran off down the hallway leaving the food with Lance while shouting for his partner in a panic.

Keith laughed. His hand hitting the edge of the bed as he looked up at Lance. “You are such a dick! You have no idea what you’ve done to that poor guy.”

“Consider it payback for the morning he teased you too much.” Lance brought the tray of food over to the bed and grinned. “Maybe he had it coming. Maybe he should pay attention to himself more when it comes to those sorts of things.”

“Well we do have a habit of making ourselves the center of attention.” Keith trilled as he nuzzled against Lance. His wing ruffling which made the feeding baby chuckle. 

“Well, at least now we don’t have to worry about that.” Lance smiled and got the food set up so Keith could eat. 

“No. Not really.” Keith licked his lips and started eating, then blinked. “Are you eating?”

“I’m not really hungry.” Lance smiled a little and shook his head. “I haven’t been since we came back…I’m sure once I calm down it’ll be fine.”

Keith lowered his eyes, a ripple of color moving through his wings as his eating slowed down. 

Lance shook his head and gently touched his arm. “Keith, don’t worry about that. I’m fine. I’m sure of it.”

“Still.” Keith put the fork down and looked out the window into the trees beyond. “Take your time, take all the time you need. I’m not going to rush forward with anything more than we have to. We’ll be here when you’re ready.” He turned back to Lance, smiling in that sweet way only exposed to Lance. 

“I know that.” Lance shook his head, but then he leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you…” He took a little piece of meat off Keith’s plate and ate it, smiling a little more.

“Well, get your own food.” Keith smiled and stuck his tongue out at Lance before he leaned forward to lick some of the juice off his lips. Remembering himself he blinked down at the bundle sound asleep in his feathers and sighed. “I should be more careful about who’s eyes are watching.”

“Well, if you’re not going to kiss me anymore because we have a kid, and another on a the way, you at least won’t have to worry about having any more than two children.” Lance stuck his tongue out.

Keith tapped Lance’s tongue with a quick finger and shook his head. “Some things kids should never see their parents do. Once we put her to sleep… I’ll kiss you however much you want.” He turned his hand over a few times. “This body has never been touched by you. Might be interesting.”

“Well, she’s asleep now, and you’re still not kissing me.” Lance pouted, but then he looped an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “When we get our own house, we’ll make sure both kids have their own rooms hm? Then you can kiss me without fear of them watching.”

“She’s on my wing.” Keith smiled but kissed him anyway.

Lance kissed him back. “That’s a new excuse.” He pouted a little. “And here I thought you kissed me with your mouth, not your wings.”

Keith laughed against his lips. “Jerk.”

“But you love me, and you think I’m sexy.” Lance grinned and kissed Keith again.

“Obviously. There’s at least two examples of that.” Keith reached his hand up to hold Lance’s jaw.

Lance looked at him and grinned even though Keith was holding his jaw. “Are you complaining?”

“No. No complaints.” Keith kissed him again, slipping his fingers into his hair.

“Good.” Lance kissed him once more and smirked. “Don’t forget to finish your food. We should probably go talk to the others once you’re done.”

“Heartless tease.” Keith smirked but let Lance go. He continued to eat way more than his compact frame should have been able to store.

“Hey now. I got my heart back. Don’t be mean.” Lance smirked and kissed his cheek before he gathered Allura up and held her while she slept.

Keith finished eating with a flop back on the bed. His hand over his stomach as he licked his lips of the savory juices left behind. “That hit the spot.” 

“Full?” Lance watched him with a little bit of a smile on his face. He rocked Allura gently, standing after a moment and pacing a bit around the room. “Where do you want to live?”

“Hmm.” Keith stretched out on the mattress exposing his chest and stomach down to the tie around his waist to the light chill of the room. “I liked Minnesota. To be honest. But it gets cold there. Though there’s acres of wooded forest and we wouldn’t be that far from Hunk and Pidge. What do the whelps need?” Keith naturally figured Seiryuu’s cousins would be coming with them. They’d taken them away from Heaven and destroyed what they had left of a home. There were no gods left in their ruined paradise. Those who escaped were settled on earth, those who didn’t had been taken by Yu Di’s insanity. Providing for the little dragons was the right thing to do. 

Lance kept pacing, rocking Allura gently to keep her lulled in sleep even as he spoke. “Water. Well, Yinglong is the one that really needs water. The other three are young enough that they haven’t developed a dependency on anything. But I need water, so there’s that.” He looked at Keith and smiled. “Do…you want to go back to your job, then? We can maybe find a cabin in the woods by a lake. That would be enough for me.”

“Maybe.” Keith answered. He hadn’t thought about it. He was a different person now than the stand-in RN at HCMC. “I don’t know yet. It would be weird now. And how would I explain this?” He laid his hand on his stomach. “That’s not normal!” Now that he was aware of it, he felt the smallest of swells in his stomach. 

“Well, you had time off right? Perhaps… if you decide to go back, you just wait until after you lay the egg?” Lance moved to sit down on the edge of the bed, looking down at him with a smile. “If that’s what you want to do. If not, that’s okay as well.”

“Well I think I overused that already. I doubt I’d have a job to go back to. But letting them know I’m alive might be a good thing.” When Lance sat down Keith curled around him, wasting no time in laying his head on his thigh and wrapping his legs as close to his back as he could manage. 

Lance smiled and shifted Allura so he could hold her with one arm, his free hand now coming down to stroke Keith’s hair. “I suppose. Though you can blame me if you need to.” His fingers threaded through his hair. “Either way, we will find a place to be that’s perfect for our family.”

“Mm…” Keith trilled, smiling as heard the deep breaths of their sleeping child. “Anywhere we are will be perfect.” He lifted his hand and allowed Allura’s opal tail to wrap around his palm and over his wrist. The colors in her iridescent tail shifting with the thump of Keith’s pulse. 

“Then…when everything is settled here, we should go looking for a place. We have the RV, too…” Lance smiled and watched the way Keith seemed to be in awe of Allura. “And I can get a job if I need to.”

“Yeah. What more do we need to settle with the group?” Keith turned his attention back to Lance’s face. 

“Not much, but I’m sure the others would appreciate spending some non-stressed, non-battle time with us.” Lance smiled a little and tapped Keith’s nose.

“Well, I’m looking forward to spending some non-stressed, non-battle time with you.” Keith pointedly licked at Lance’s finger as it passed by his lips. 

“Oh? You still want to do that even after I got you pregnant a second time?” Lance smirked, tapping Keith’s lips after the lick.

“Didn’t stop me the first time. Why would it stop me the second time?” Keith grinned. 

“That’s true.” Lance chuckled and shook his head. “We have plenty of time to do that, and neither of us want to do that in the same building as Hunk, or he’ll bring it up at the table again, and then I’ll really have to embarrass him.”

“Yeah yeah yeah.” Keith nuzzled and kissed Lance’s thigh one more time before he pushed himself up from the bed. “I should get some decent clothing on then.” He turned, shouldering off the robe and letting it slip to a pile on the floor. 

“You should.” Lance shifted so Keith could get up, once again pulling Allura to his chest, gently stroking her hair as she slept. “Though it’s a good thing my arms are full, or you’d be tempting me too much.”

“By getting dressed?” Keith laughed again, something he’d been doing a lot lately. He arched as the banished his wings and threw on a baggy top, something he could cuddle into and hide away if he needed to. 

“Well when you get undressed before you get dressed.” Lance smiled at Keith’s laughter, some more of the tension in his body slowly dissipating. 

“Oh? Something special about how I undress?” Keith pulled his hair from his collar, twisted it up and bound it in place. It got his hair off his neck, but exposed the bite and the delicate looking scale earrings.

“Special? Sure. It means you’re naked, and I get turned on by you being naked.” Lance chuckled and watched him, his eyes darkening for a moment when they rested on that bite, but then he shook his head to clear his thoughts. 

“I breathe, and you get turned on. It’s like clockwork.” Keith leaned down and kissed Lance’s forehead. “Especially now that part of you is here. You’re incorrigible during your nesting phase.” 

“Well I mean I’m in a perpetual state of desire for you.” Lance grinned up at him. “I’m just really good at controlling myself.” His grin widened. “Especially when holding our daughter.”

“I appreciate that. And her future therapist will too.” Keith laughed softly and scratched Lance under his chin. “I can take her now if you need to change clothes.”

Lance shook his head. “You were the one who wasn’t dressed really, not me.” He stuck his tongue out a bit and held Allura. “Let me at least for a little while longer. You’ll get to hold her a lot more than I will.”

“Oh? Why is that? Plan on ditching me at home like some 1950’s house wife?” Keith arched a sardonic brow. He understood the make of his body would certainly complicate his daily activities and staying home for at least the last few weeks before laying would be a good idea, strictly medical of course. Didn’t mean that’s all he wanted. 

“I can’t drive with a baby in my arms.” Lance looked at him flatly. “And we will have to drive back to Minnesota, won’t we? Do you really think I meant anything other than that?”

“O-oh.” Keith scratched his cheek sheepishly. “Yeah, well… I could drive. If you wanted.” Keith had a led foot, his documented driving history had evidence of it, but he was a damn good driver, at speeds over 100 Miles per hour.

“Could you? When have you ever driven anything as large as the RV?” Lance chuckled and looked at him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if you’ve never done it before.”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I get it.” Keith sighed, feeling the challenge in the air. “I’ll let you be the better driver.” He smirked. “I’m still a better flyer.” 

“I wouldn’t even question that.” Lance shook his head and stood, kissing his cheek before he stepped past him. “Ready to face the others?”

“Yeah.” Keith fell into step beside him, hooking his arm around his and then his hand down into his pocket.

Lance smiled and went downstairs with him, relaxing a little more as they stepped into the living room, where Hunk seemed to be almost a little too attentive to Pidge, even though she was swatting at him. He chuckled and shook his head. Maybe he felt a little bad for setting that up, but he mostly didn’t.

Keith stepped ahead of Lance and blinked when Shiro pulled a chair out for him, he stared at the chair then at Shiro. “Shiro I…” Keith stopped a snappy retort and shook his head. Shiro was doing what he could and what he knew how to do. Keith wasn’t going to make fun of him for an honest effort. He sat in the chair, pulling his knees up and inside the sweatshirt when he did so.

“You’ll stretch that out, come on now stop it.” Coran appeared on the monitor behind Keith, making the god jump.

“That’s the point. I like baggy.” Keith stuck his tongue out.

“Well that’s not a very parental thing to do.” Coran sniffed.

“He looks good when he wears clothes that are way too big for him anyway.” Lance smiled and stood, holding Allura close to his chest as she slowly opened her eyes and cooed a bit.

Hunk pouted and looked over at them all. “Should I get snacks?”

“Do you want snacks?” Lance grinned. “Do you need them?”

“Lance!” Pidge shot a glare at him.

“Lance, stop being a jerk.” Keith shook his head and nodded to Hunk. “I’d like some snacks.”

“You just ate- OH! Oh.. right… Yeah I can get some.” Hunk looked at Keith thankfully as he walked out of the room. 

“I’m not being a jerk.” Lance sat down on the couch next to Pidge and let Allura crawl around his lap, her tail curling around his arm. 

“You did made Hunk a little…well…” Shiro shook his head and crossed his arms. 

“What would you expect? “ Keith sighed shaking his head, then closing his eyes when Shiro’s hand ruffled his hair.

“How are you doing?” Shiro smiled down at the younger god. “After giving us all a scare.”

“Tired. Hungry. Twitchy.” Keith answered, eyes still closed.

“Expected. Umm.. if there’s anything you need. I want to be there this time. Not like before. I mean for both of you.” Shiro looked at the bundle in Lance’s lap and Keith felt the Northern god melt.

“You’ll be the first one we call. I promise.” 

Lance looked at them for a moment, but then focused on the little dragon curled on his lap. He gently stroked her hair and glanced at Pidge. “You and Hunk will be staying here?”

“Yeah.” She smiled and reached out to tap one of Allura’s chubby cheeks. “And you’ll be heading back to Arizona, or…?”

“Minnesota.” Lance shrugged slightly. “Shiro, are you heading back to New York?”

“Yeah. I have a home there and a good job. The kids need me, so I’ll be heading back that way.” Shiro let his hand drop from Keith’s hair, not wanting to cross the dragon’s boundaries any more than he already had. 

“We shouldn’t let a thousand years pass by again.” Keith smiled and focused on Lance.

“Well, you have a phone now, so…” Lance’s expression wasn’t nearly as warm as Keith’s was, but he shrugged a little and looked back down at his whelp, playing with her hair a bit.

Pidge shook her head slightly and looked up when Hunk came back with a tray full of snacks.

“I do. And a twitter…” Keith smiled and eyed the snacks as Hunk set them down in front of them. 

“How long do you think you’ll be staying before you head out, then?” Hunk blinked. “I mean Lance’s cousins have been rolling around in the snow for hours, and they can stay here as long as they’d like, right Pidge?” He grinned a little when the smaller god nodded and took some cheese and crackers from the tray. “But you have places to be…and…” He blinked, then pouted.

“We won’t be far.” Lance patted Hunk on the shoulder when he sat down on the other side of him. “Besides, now I’m not afraid of dragging you down with me…so I won’t be avoiding you hm?”

“Exactly. We’ll be just north of the cities really just a few hours’ drive. Shiro could probably teleport around as much as he wants.” Keith grinned.

“Within reason. I’m not a transporter.” Shiro shook his head.

“Like that Xmen guy. Nightcrawler.” Keith licked a crumb from his finger.

“Yeah. Something like that.” Shiro sat down in the chair beside Keith.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” Pidge rummaged around in the pocket of her oversized overalls and pulled out a small spherical device. “Here!” She tossed it to Keith.

Keith caught it with ease and blinked. “Coran Coran the gorgeous man?” He read the etching on its side.

“A Coran home security system! He’s connected to the one here. The same but not. We can relay anything we want in real time through him and even have visual. Like life size!”

Hunk and Lance exchanged a look before Hunk groaned a little. “You…realize they’re going to have six dragons there right? I doubt they’d need security…”

Lance grinned. “Pidge just wants to keep in touch with Keith a little more than normal since I’m suuuure she’ll be asking him how to have a god baby soon enough.”

“Hey!” Hunk’s face went red.

Keith shot a glare at Lance before looking back over at Pidge. The tiger appeared nonplussed about everything so he shrugged it all off. 

“Well Keith isn’t a ‘Mother of Dragons’ and it doesn’t hurt to have more help around the house.” Pidge smiled.

“Well no. I mean… sort of. I guess. One dragon any way. The rest kind of…. Just hitch-hiked. And whatever this is going to be.” Keith wrapped an arm around his stomach. 

Lance puffed out his cheeks, but he laughed a little when Allura looked up at him and tried to mimic his expression. He glanced over at Keith and arched a brow. “It’s not a dragon. I can tell that much.”

“Eh? How can you tell?” Pidge leaned in and fixed her glasses. “That’s fascinating.”

“Keith’s way warmer now than he was when he was making this little one.”

“Warmer?” Keith cocked his head to the side, watching Allura fondly before he couldn’t take it anymore and got up. Hunk started to stand to let Keith sit by Lance, but he was waved to stay put as Keith sat on the floor, level with their daughter as he rested his chin on Lance’s knee.

“Dragons are cold blooded. They would have had to regulate your body temperature more in order to make sure the environment was suitable. A bird or a phoenix, is warm blooded. So…” Pidge rubbed her chin. “So you’d run hotter than usual.” 

“I already do that.” 

“More so.” 

“It’s way warmer. There’s a reason why she prefers sleeping on you than on me.” Lance looked down at Keith and rested a hand on his head. “Your stomach growls a little louder when you’re hungry, too.” He grinned.

Hunk blinked. “Do you have any cravings for anything in particular? Lance said you wanted a lot of meat before. Maybe not so much now?”

“Either way, it’s definitely not a dragon.”

“Fruit. I think.” Keith smiled, his eyes widening when Allura came down to head-butt him then squish her nose into his. A laugh shaking the god’s body.

Lance smiled a little and watched them, but after a moment he looked up and rested his hand on Pidge’s shoulder. “Thank you for taking such good care of her.” And then he turned to Hunk. “And thank you for helping.” Finally, he looked to Shiro. “And thank you for not killing me.” He grinned.

“Killing you?” Shiro shrugged his shoulders. “Keith makes his own choices. If he didn’t want to be with you, he wouldn’t have been.” He walked over to plopped his flesh hand on Lance’s head. “You never forced his hand. So killing you never crossed my mind.”

“Maiming is another issue.” Shiro grinned.

“Uncle Shiro has a fan.” Keith grinned as Allura stared up at the tall impressive figure of the great Northern god. Instantly her hands shot up to be picked up, with a face as ferocious as any other. 

“Oh please. You know you’ve wanted to kill me several times over.” Lance looked at him and grinned. “But if you don’t give little Allura what she wants, she might be the one doing the killing hm?”

“I’ve seen Keith make that every same expression.” Shiro smiled and picked up the little dragonling. Allura was so small and light, yet felt comfortingly solid. “Hollow bones. Like Keith. She’ll be an amazing flyer. Like a little cloud.” Shiro poked her nose, making the tiny girl giggle in glee. 

“Oh? You mean someone might be better at flying than Keith?” Lance grinned and jokingly covered Keith’s ears. “Don’t let him hear it!”

“As long as were all better than you.” Keith grumbled. “That’s what really matters.”

“I’m not that bad.” Lance pouted. “I can fly better than Hunk can!”

“I’m not supposed to fly!”

“I can swim better than you all too!” Lance stuck his tongue out.

“I never get far because you attack me!” Keith pouted. “Like me being underwater is a ‘thing’ for you!”

“This is Lance…” Pidge sighed. “Everything you do is a ‘thing’ for him.”

“That’s not true!” Lance puffed his cheeks out as he always did when he was pouting. “Not everything…”

“Well, I would be worried if Lance wasn’t the best swimmer.” Shiro chuckled as he held Allura and poked her little cheeks. “Just like I would be worried if Hunk wasn’t the best cook.”

Hunk grinned. “I am pretty good at that.”

“Oh? Not everything?” Keith arched s brow.

“Here it comes, birth of a complex.” Pidge joked.

Lance looked at Keith and kept his cheeks puffed, as if that was enough of an answer.

Hunk laughed a little and patted Lance on the back. “You’re going to get it tonight.”

“Don’t make him hopeful. But if I were you. I’d stay out of the bath tonight.” Shiro grinned widely.

“You too?” Keith shook his head. 

“Just stating the facts.”

“You’re an idiot. There’s a fact for you.” Keith pouted but leaned his head against Lance’s leg, feeling low on energy but still enjoying the company.

“But Lance can’t be drowned?” Hunk blinked a little and looked so confused. 

Lance couldn’t hold the pout for long and laughed a little at Hunk’s bewildered expression. He rested his hand on Keith’s hair and played with his hair. “All right. I think we had enough for now. It looks like it’s nap time.” He nodded towards to Allura, who seemed to be falling asleep in Shiro’s arms. “And we’ll probably leave in the morning…”

Keith closed his eyes at the attention. He was pretty sure Lance was trying to get him sleepy.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take a rest? I can watch her for a bit.” Shiro rocked the baby dragon like an old pro. “You can go ahead and take a break before this is your life 24/7.” 

“Eh? All right, if that’s all right with Keith.” Lance gently poked Keith’s head. “What do you think?

“I’m okay. It’s good for uncle Shiro to bond with his niece.” Keith looked up at Lance then over to Shiro. “He took care of me. I think he can handle a princess.”

Lance snorted a little, but bit back his comment and simply nudged Keith. “Then let’s go tuck you in for your nap.” He shook his head, but didn’t move yet because Keith was still leaning on his leg.

Keith sat up and rubbed his shoulder, then his back as he yawned. “Okay okay. I just ate too much I’m sure. Food coma.” Keith walked over and shook Hunks arm before the big guy pulled him into a hug as he pulled Pidge in to.

“I’ll miss you guys!!” 

“We’re still in the same house Hunk.” Keith chuckled as he pulled himself away.

“We’re not going to leave without saying goodbye or anything.” Lance stood and shook his head a little, waiting for the hug to end before he took Keith’s hand to help him back upstairs.

When they got back into their room, Keith looked around, cocking his head. He hated to admit it, but the room already seemed too quiet without Allura’s coos coming from the crib or one of their arms. He tapped his arm nervously and turned to Lance. “I might have a problem. It’s been five minutes and I want her back.”

“That’s not a problem, that’s normal.” Lance walked through the room and went to where a change of clothes were strewn across a chair. He pulled his shirt off and stretched a little before tugging the sweatshirt on, reaching to do the same with his pants. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine with Shiro. He pretty much declared he’d be at your beck and call anyway.”

Keith folded his arms. “He’s over compensating. He feels horrible about before, asking us to get rid of the egg. And maybe he should. I don’t know.” 

Lance shrugged as he pulled off his jeans and pulled on his sweatpants. “If you say so.” He walked to the bed and climbed in with a groan.

Keith sat on the side of the bed, his hip pressed up against Lance as he turned his body, his arm bracing him so he could lean over his lover. “You okay?”

“I don’t know. I think so?” Lance looked up at him. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Loving fingers came to stroke the side of Lance’s face, gently pushing at the fine hairs before he leaned down to kiss the tiny widows peek at his brow. “Are you sure, Heika?”

“No, but you’re with me, so I’ll be fine.” Lance looked up at Keith before he smiled and wrapped his arms around him. “Just don’t let me go.”

Keith laid himself down on him. “Like you have to ask?” He slipped his arm under Lance’s body and cuddled his head in under the taller man’s skin. “We’re free now.”

“I wasn’t really asking.” Lance nuzzled into Keith’s hair and closed his eyes. “We are. Are you happy?”

“I’m very happy.” Keith’s lips moved against Lance’s neck. 

Lance groaned, his voice getting quieter. “Me too…” He settled a little more, and soon sleep came over him.

Keith smiled, feeling the even peaceful breathing of his lover as the Dragon drifted off. Relief washed over him. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw Lance sleep. Yes, he rested here and there but never really slept. “Good night, Idiot Lizard.”

\-----

The sound of birds chirping woke Lance from one of the most restful sleeps he had in a long while. The sun was just peeking through the curtains, warming him a little as his eyes slowly opened and he turned his head to look at his partner. Keith was nestled against his chest, breathing evenly, a soft little smile ghosting on his lips. Lance shook his head slightly and kissed the top of his head before he slid out of bed, listening for the sounds of morning mischief. When he heard none, he walked to the window and pushed the curtains open so the sunlight spread across the bed and over Keith’s face. 

He looked out on the lake. The surface was calm, only disturbed by a family of ducks swimming across the surface. Well, that was until there was a loud laugh and a splash. Lance shook his head as he watched Pu Lao’s head poke above the surface of the water. Chi Wen and Bi An soon followed. All laughter and splashing.

With a groan, he pulled his boxers on and walked back to the bed, leaning over to kiss Keith on the forehead. “Hey…”

“Nnm.” Keith opened one eye, a grumpy pout on his full lips before it turned into an appreciative smile. “Is the house on fire? If not, I have a few more minutes.”

Lance smiled and kissed those lips. “Then stay up here. I’ll make breakfast.” He reached up and ruffled Keith’s hair. 

“Mmm?” Keith smirked and grabbed Lance’s arm. He pulled him off balance, his smirk turning into a full on laugh as he got the dragon to fall on top of him. “You think so?” 

Lance laughed as he landed on Keith, but he pushed himself up on his arms so he could look down at him. “Well, if you’re not going to get out of bed, don’t I need to, before Allura decides she’s going to try to make us breakfast again?”

“Well then the house will be on fire and I’ll have a good reason to get up.” Keith kissed Lance and purred softly as he pulled away. “Mm, good morning.” 

“I’d prefer not to have to rebuild the cabin.” Lance chuckled, and he smiled down at him. “Good morning.” He leaned down and gave him another quick kiss before he pulled up once more.

“Daddy!!” A bolt of silver streaked across the room in a flurry of scales and feathers. Small arms had wrapped themselves around Lance’s throat in a grapple any wrestler would be jealous of. Even if it was done by a five year old girl. 

Keith started laughing, and it only got more pronounced when he saw the smaller, blue-winged child standing at the doorway, a teddy in his hands. Sandy brown hair fluffed up in every angle mathematically possible. “Aluwa…” Keith’s heart always stopped at the sound of his tiny lisp. 

“Matthew.” Keith sat up more and opened his arms to the little blue jay as he walked with dragging footied feet over to the bed. With a flutter of wings he hopped up and cuddled sleepily into Keith’s arms. “I guess that answers that question for the day.”

Lance laughed as he pulled Allura from his neck so he could hold her and growl-nuzzle into her hair, causing her to squeal and giggle with delight. “Looks like my little whelp is being a bit mischievous this morning hm?” He laughed and kept one arm around her as he reached out and ruffled Matt’s hair, attempting to smooth out some of his bedhead. “I suppose it is a bit early hm?” He smiled. “Allura, what should we make Daddy and Matt for breakfast?”

“Ooooh. Waffles!”

“We had waffles yesterday.”

Allura’s cheeks puffed out and she looked up at Lance with the biggest, saddest eyes. “But Matt likes waffles. And you and Daddy like waffles. And I like waffles!”

“How about,” Keith pretended to think a little, his eyes glittering impishly. “Chocolate chip waffles?” Matt gasped in sudden awe. 

“Chipsh!?” He got up and held Keith’s cheeks, forcing his father to look him in the eye, not believing such a thing was possible. 

Lance chuckled and set Allura down so he could stand. “Oh? Well I guess that settles it. Chocolate chip waffles to awe our little blue jay hm?”

Allura grabbed Lance’s hand and started pulling him towards the bedroom door. “With whipped cream?”

“Yes, of course. It wouldn’t be good without it.” Lance chuckled again.

Keith sat got up and set Matt down on the bed as he quickly threw a T-shirt on. He swooped the little bird back into his arms and followed the other two. The children were around the same age, but bird gods developed slower and were generally smaller than dragons, so Matt would always be on the tiny side compared to Allura. However, the little hatchling had a brain like he’d only seen in one other individual and she had already agreed to tutor the bird when the time was right. 

“Daddy?” 

“Hmm?” Keith nuzzled Matt’s cheek as they walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. The other pair were already making a mess. A colander sat atop Allura’s head as though the young princess was going to war. 

“Can we thiwm today?” Keith sat Matt down on the counter, and contemplated. 

“You really like the water hmm?” Matt nodded emphatically. It had become an unexpected development. Allura loved the sky and sored through the clouds like a silver bullet. Matt could spend hours in the water and never once come up for air. “Alright then. You can go out there with your father and your cousins after breakfast.”

“Oh? So you want me to swim too?” Lance glanced over his shoulder as he poured some more batter into the waffle maker. “You don’t want to swim?”

“Daddy’s not good at swimming.” Allura giggled from under her makeshift helmet. “He always complains that the water’s too cold.” She made a pouty face and did her best Keith voice: “I don’t know how you like this water, stupid Lizard!” before she erupted into giggles.

“Allura!” Lance lifted the colander off Allura’s head and looked down at her. “Are you supposed to use that word?”

Allura stopped giggling and reached for the colander. “No…” She pouted. “Sorry Daddy.” 

“And?” Lance arched a brow. 

She turned to Keith and kept pouting. “Sorry Daddy.”

“That’s right, your Daddy isn’t a lizard. He’s a dragon.” Keith grinned wickedly. Allura raised the colander up to her face to hide her laugh while Matt’s wings flapped happily.

Lance shook his head and flipped the waffle maker over. “Okay, no chocolate chips for Daddy then.” He puffed his cheeks out as he cooked.

“Awwwe! Sho mean!” Matt yelled as he kicked his feet. 

“Fair is fair.” Keith said as he walked by Lance and kissed a puffed cheek. “I still love you though.”

Allura laughed a little. “Daddy’s just mad that Daddy didn’t agree with him.” She climbed onto her stool and dumped some chocolate chips into the batter, giggling. “Chocolate chips for everyone!”

Lance pouted more. “You are all ganging up on me!”

“I’ll make it up to you.” Keith hip-checked the taller god before reaching over to grab a cup of coffee and dumping a sizeable amount of creamer into it.

“I’ve heard that before.” Lance over exaggerated his sigh for Matt and Allura’s benefit, since they both started giggling when he did, and he finished making the waffles. “All right. Who wants whipped cream on theirs?”

“Meeeeeeeeeeeeee” Allura jumped up and down. 

“Memememe!” Matt glided off the counter into a chair and stared wide-eyed at the pile of waffles. “Oh! Chipsh! Reawly Chipsh!” 

Keith hung back, leaning against the wall, his coffee cup held in one hand as he watched his family go through their routine. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought to imagine something like this to be possible for him. The night he fell in that stinking alley way, he only wanted to be saved. He wanted his pain to stop, but now here he was, miles away from the person he’d been. 

Lance was all smiles as he put whipped cream on the plates of waffles he set down for his children. “Ok no helmets at the table,” he said as he plucked the colander back from Allura and put it on the counter next to Keith, sneaking a kiss to his cheek as he did so. “Come eat, hm?” He nuzzled a little before he stepped back and sat in his chair, just beaming with a happiness he never thought he could ever deserve.

“I will. In a second.” Keith smiled. He knew Lance understood. There were days neither of them could believe they ended up here. From such lonely beginnings to having family. Friends. A future. It was more than Keith could have asked for, but they fought so hard for it, he’d never let it go and he felt sorry for any who would try to take it from them now. 

Lance glanced over at him and smiled a little. “Well, don’t take too long hm?” He knew Keith could see the love practically emanating from him with that smile. Everything as it was right now was just perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh! I can't believe we completed it!! Yay!! Thanks to all of you that stuck with us provided kudos and encouraged us with comments along the way. You guys are the best! Please share your love and share our story with Reblogs, comments, and Kudos. We love hearing from you all!! And a special heart felt thank you to Autumn-Sacura and her gorgeous art work!! Check out her blog and her store!!
> 
> Again Sometimesafangirl and I cannot thank you enough! While we will be doing a Prequel in the future we're stepping away from this AU to try something different. We've included this little preview for our next story. 
> 
> Camilla's Patina: Steampunk Meiji Era AU  
> Lance stood outside the shop, looking up at the sign, back down at the note Shiro had scribbled for him the night before, and then back up at the sign again. Vol-Tron. Foreign friendly. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, though that seemed impossible in the moment. But he straightened himself up, standing tall, confident, his uniform impeccable as he carefully pushed open the shop door. “Hello?” He blinked at the way the entire place seemed to live. Gears whirring, the smell of oil thick in the air. Everything just seemed alive.
> 
> He carefully stepped in, clutching that piece of paper in his hand and looking around for a counter or something. When he finally spotted the black-haired man behind the counter, he felt a bit of relief wash over him. If he had to talk to a machine, he might just leave. So he steeled himself, and took slow, confident steps towards that man. A rather pretty man, actually. Lance blinked, surprised at that, but he shook that off and smiled softly. “Excuse me…I need some help, and a man named Shiro said I could find it here?” His Japanese wasn’t the best, but he tried, and while he was sure he didn’t say everything perfectly, he hoped his meaning got across.
> 
> “Shiro did?” Keith arched a brow to regard the customer. He appeared perturbed and looked beyond Lance. “The bell didn’t work again!” He yelled over to the small person at the counter before taking in the new comer. From his accent Keith figured he’d had to be another American but this guy didn’t look like the others. Most foreigners were white and wealthy. This guy was dark skinned and wearing a casual soldier’s getup. But then, who was he to judge. Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan ushered in all types of people whom never stepped foot on the Japanese shores. Businesses all around Kyoto were in a boom and the ports flooded with wealthy investors and businessmen of all nationalities. The least popular being the American army base. They’d struck a deal to with the Meiji government to help quell any uprisings and were given a little plot of land just outside the western city.


End file.
